Just Turn
by A Classy Girl
Summary: When her boyfriend, Josh, leaves for the summer, Cammie thinks she's in for a sad and boring three months despite her friends' support. But the new boy next door seems to have different plans. Will Zach help her see that maybe Josh isn't her One and that there really are more fish in the sea? T for language!
1. Chapter 1

**So I want to try this story out because I have seriously had this idea in my head since before I started Zach's POV. Pretty much, Cammie has been in love (and dating) Josh for years but now he's leaving for a trip for three months. A new neighbor, Zach, moves in who gets on Cammie's nerves. Awesome times will surely ensue. That's really about as much as this is planned out. I haven't decided what end game is yet.**

**Also, no spies in this story. Sorry!**

**Forgive any errors on my part. I don't have a beta and I also post things as soon as I finish writing them without a second read-through. I know, I know. Bad habits have got to stop!**

**DISCLAIMER: Cammie and Zach and all those other awesome people belong to Ally Carter. **

* * *

Chapter ONE

As teenagers, we are told that we don't understand what love really is. That we aren't capable of loving someone truly and deeply with the same emotional connection and depth as an adult. But I disagree with that. Though many high school relationships fizz out as quickly as they flare up I have always felt that that required teenagers to love all the more deeply and passionately while they could. Before the flamed died out, they had to trek across the whole range of emotions that adults take decades to trudge through.

Have adults forgotten what it was like for them as teens? Does age cause us to forget what passion really is?

I fear many things in life: spiders, insects, car crashes, and terrorists, and death, and all of those horrors that life throws at you. But above that, above even death, I fear missing out on my one great love and never knowing true passion and contentment.

I thought I had that with Josh.

But this summer changed everything and as senior year starts, I find myself wondering who I really am and what it is that I really want.

I'm scared of what the answers might be.

~.~.~.~

"I don't want you to go."

I was lying down on Josh's bed. He had his ceiling fan on and I found myself hypnotized by the wings whooshing in their constant circular pattern.

"I know. I hate that I'll be gone all summer, but I'll be back for the first day of school." He leaned down onto the bed next to me and looked down at my face. "I'll call, every day if possible. Maybe more."

"Will you write to me, too?"

"I'll email."

I sighed. Josh's romantic gestures only went so far. He had no respect for the old ways of wooing a girl and getting back into her good graces.

But he was still my Josh.

"Fine. Call and email." I sat up and he moved out of my way. I pointed my finger at him. "And you better bring me back an _awesome_ present."

He smiled at me and I wanted to melt. When he wrapped his arms around and brought me into a close embrace, I nearly did.

"I'm going to miss you so much," I whispered.

Josh and I had been together since the summer before ninth grade. He was my first crush and my first kiss and my first love and I wanted him to be the first and last of everything left in my life. But now he was leaving for the entire summer before our senior year and I couldn't help feeling that things wouldn't be the same when he got back.

Would he still look at me the same way, like something inside of him had just lit up inside of him or fireworks were raining down in the sky? Would I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world when he held me like this and kissed me like he did on our first date nearly four years ago?

And that was another thing. He wasn't going to be here for our fourth anniversary.

Tears sprung to my eyes. I wasn't usually so emotional or clingy but my boyfriend was leaving me for three months. Sure, he was going to do volunteer work throughout the Caribbean and that was great and noble and lovely, but I still reserved the right to be a little mad at him.

"The summer will fly by and before you know it, I'll be back." He pulled away far enough to smile sweetly at me. "You'll barely have time to miss me."

I didn't tell him that part of me missed him already. He was still in town but his mind was already on what he would be doing all summer and the places he'd go and the people he'd meet. More and more our conversations turned into whether he had bought the right sleeping bag or mosquito net or if he should pack a couple extra toothbrushes and flashlights in case people forgot theirs.

I was getting left behind and he hadn't even boarded his plane yet.

Still, I didn't want to let on just how much pain I was in. I didn't want to seem like a was some co-dependent freak. So I put on a brave smile and said, "You're right. I'll be working at the diner this summer and I'm sure Bex already has a whole slew of adventures planned out. I'll be fine."

"You'll be great." He said and kissed me on the forehead before standing up to continue packing. "You always are."

I left his house shortly after that. His mom invited me to stay for dinner but I just wanted to go home and wallow in my own self-pity for a while. I walked the few blocks to my own house and saw that the new neighbors had almost finished unloading all of their things from the giant moving truck that was parked at the curb in front their house.

A woman came out of the front door of the house and I hurried up the path to my own door before she noticed me. I was in no mood to socialize today.

But of course my mother had other plans. Although she was absolutely dreadful in the kitchen, she did have access to a credit card and had gotten some fresh chocolate chip cookies from Hal's Bakery. She had arranged them on one of nice, glass platters that Grandma had given her one Christmas and wanted me to take it over to welcome the newcomers to the neighborhood.

"Mom, why don't you give them the cookies?"

She tilted her head. "I would but I just remembered I have this...thing."

And that was the kicker. My mom wanted to welcome the neighbors - just not in person. She wasn't always the biggest people-person either.

"Besides, I have so much work to finish up."

"What does a principal of a school do during the summer?" I asked.

"Oh, we find things to busy ourselves with."

I cracked a little smile and didn't feel so sad anymore so I dropped my bag off my shoulder and took the cookie platter. The quicker I played my part as welcoming committee, the sooner I could get to my bedroom where I fully intended to cry into my pillow.

The woman from a few moments before wasn't outside anymore so I headed up to the front door, tromping through the green grass of their front yard. I could imagine my mom, watching through the living room window and shaking her head at me for leaving temporary footprints through our neighbor's grass. Heaven forbid.

I was about to knock on the door when it sprang open and someone plowed into me, tangling their feet in mine. The glass platter (and cookies) went flying through the air and landed on the cement walkway with a shattering sound. I, too, went flying and landed in the grass with a heavy weight on top of me.

The wind was knocked out of me, and I didn't even have enough breath to say "Ow!" let alone yell at the person on top of me to get off me. But as soon as the thought crossed my mind, the weight was gone.

"What the hell!"

I pushed myself into a sitting position, still trying to get my breathing back to normal. It took me a second to realize the yell was directed at me. And another second to realize that the person waiting for an answer was a boy my age.

"Excuse me?" I whispered because I could not for the life of me get it any higher quite yet.

"What kind of person lurks in front of doors?" He shouted. He had dark eyes and they were glaring right into mine.

I was shocked. _Lurking?_ The outrage of it all gave me enough momentum to speak loud enough. "I wasn't lurking! I was bringing cookies!"

"Oh yeah?" He didn't look like he believed me.

I gestured at the broken platter and the ruined cookies splattered around it. "Yeah, asshole. I'm the freaking welcoming committee."

"Do you welcome all new neighbors by calling them assholes?"

His anger seemed to have dissipated greatly because he was smiling now, but I was still worked up from him calling me a lurker. "Only the ones that are assholes."

"Well, for future reference, I prefer to be called Zach."

He held a hand out for me to take to stand up. I stared at it for a moment and he started to look a little unsure. Finally, I took it and brushed myself off when I was standing upright.

"I'm Cammie." I said brushing a stray leaf out of my hair. "Welcome to Roseville, Zach."

* * *

**What do you think? Is this worth continuing?**

**Leave a comment! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I was so glad to hear that you guys liked the first chapter so I wrote this one up as fast as I could. Hope you like it as much as the first chapter, if not more!**

**Forgive any mistakes! They are unintentional.**

**Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns all.**

* * *

Chapter TWO

"So how are the new neighbors?"

It was dinner time and my mom and I were seated across from each other at the wooden kitchen table with a big bowl of salad between us - it was the only home-cooked meal she could make without fear of burning the house down.

I was tempted to tell her they were a bunch of assholes but my mother was strongly against swearing and discussions of butts.

"Kind of rude actually." I said. I stabbed some lettuce and a cherry tomato with my fork. "They took it out on the cookies mostly though."

"What?"

"Nothing."

She shrugged. "They're probably still getting settled in. Maybe I sent you over too soon."

I nodded and kept my eyes on my plate. I could really use a cookie of my own right now...

"How was Josh today?"

I suppressed a cringe. I had been hoping my mom would pick up on my mood and not mention my boyfriend right now. But Rachel Morgan had never been one to let emotions get in the way of tackling the tough questions.

"He's good...excited." I frowned. "Really excited."

"Are you still taking him to the airport tomorrow?"

I nodded. I couldn't bring myself to say the actual words.

"I think this time apart will be a good thing for you two. You spend so much time together, it's like you're connected at the hip." She got up from the table, finished with her food. "I know it probably feels like torture or punishment right now, but you should try to enjoy this summer. Hang out with your friends some more, get to know new people."

I heard her place her dishes in the sink behind me and then she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "Think of it as time to find out who you are without Josh."

I bit my lip. Would Josh be doing the same thing in the Caribbean? Would he find that he liked himself more without me around?

I shook those thoughts out of my head. Josh loved me and I had to stop sounding so insecure. I had to trust him like he trusted me. Our love was strong enough to make it through this summer.

I leaned into my mom's hug. "I know you're right, Mom."

I could hear the smile in her voice when she said, "I'm always right."

She kept her arms around me for another moment, probably to reassure me that she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon and while I appreciated it, I could only take so much from my mom. If I didn't cut her off, she might spend the whole night hugging me like that.

"Okay, Mom," I said standing up, "thanks for dinner and the talk."

"Anytime, sweetheart."

After cleaning the few dishes she and I had made, I went to my room. It was on the second floor of the house with a pair of corner windows. One looked out onto our backyard, and the other looked out at the side yard and the neighbor's house. I sat down on the chair that I had positioned in that corner and spent a minute looking out at the swing-set in the backyard. I remembered entire summer days spent playing on that thing with my friends, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember the last time I had gone on it. With time, it had been forgotten as we got new toys and new games and more school work.

The sun was setting and suddenly, in that dying light I felt the need to swing. So I hurried back down the stairs, slipped on my flip flops and went out the back door. The swing-set was situated towards the back of the yard, right at the edge of where the grass ended and the trees began. When I was little, I always had to swing facing the woods because I was scared something would sneak up and grab me from them. Now that I was older - and bolder - I sat with my back to it.

I had forgotten how peaceful swinging was. The wind rushed through my hair just like when I ran, and I watched as the sky got darker and darker - orange, then purple, then into the deep navy blue of night.

I didn't know how long I had been out there swinging when there was a noise behind me.

"Well, hello."

I couldn't help it. I screamed and flailed on my swing, falling off of it onto the ground. Thankfully, it had rained the night before so the ground wasn't completely hard. Unfortunately, I got mud on my favorite T-shirt.

I heard someone laugh and I stood up like a flash, whipping around to see who the culprit was.

It was the new neighbor boy, Zach. Of course. Who else would laugh at my humiliation?

"Asshole." I muttered.

"Klutz."

I gaped at him. "Correction: you tripped me earlier, and now you snuck up on me in my own backyard!"

He ignored me. "This is the second time in two meetings that you've fallen at the sight of me. Am I just that good looking that you get knocked off your feet?" He was smirking and it was doing nothing to calm me. I'd barely had a full conversation with the boy and already I wanted to rip his head off.

Stupid smirk and stupid cocky attitude and stupid boy ruining the first nice moment I'd gotten all day.

Let me repeat: _HE WAS AN ASSHOLE._

"Hardly. What the hell are you doing in my yard?" I put my hands on my hips to let him know I meant business.

He shrugged, clearly not intimidated. "There was a trail in the woods behind my house. I followed it and it circled around to here."

He came closer. "I think it must be fate."

I was not amused, but I couldn't exactly accuse him of trespassing if he'd stumbled upon me by accident.

"Whatever. Just go home."

"Oh," he said smirking like the asshole he was, "bossy. I like that."

"Yeah, well this 'boss' is taken so you can just hightail it out of here before I get my man to beat you up." He was within arms reach of me now so I pushed on his chest, sending him back a step. "Hurry home, jackass."

"Wow, I've graduated from asshole to jackass in one day." He said walking backwards to his house. "I can't wait to hear what you call me tomorrow."

I shook my head in frustration. Was he purposely annoying or was it an innate ability of his that just occurred naturally?

My swing was still moving slightly but I couldn't swing anymore. I was too freaked out now and I swear I just saw a bat fly by out of the corner of my. Gag. I hurried indoors, making sure the back door was locked behind me and hurried back upstairs to my room. I turned the lamp sitting on my bedside table on and sat down on my chair. Through the window, I could see a light on in the neighbor's window across from mine. The curtain there trembled as someone walked by it and then it was pulled away from the window, allowing me to see right into the room.

Cardboard boxes were scattered around the room, some of them open with their contents spilling out onto the floor while others waited patiently for their time to come. I could see the door that I assumed led to the hallway and the edge of a bed with a small bedside table seated next to it. From what I could see, the bed was the only thing that was finished in the room so far.

I wondered where Zach and the rest of his family had moved from. What life had they led before coming here? Had he left friends or a girlfriend behind to miss him and eventually be lost in all the other memories of his past? Did he miss them?

A woman - the one I'd seen earlier today - came into the unfinished room. I could tell she was talking and wished I knew how to read lips. She sat down on the bed still speaking and picked up a box that was by her feet. She grabbed a couple books out of it and held them out in the air. Zach entered the picture then and grabbed them from her before disappearing out of the small view through the window frame again.

As if she could feel someone looking at her, the woman on the bed looked out the window, squinting. I hoped she couldn't see me creeping in the dim light of my lamp but to be sure I hurried to the window and dropped down my blinds.

What was going on with me? I was mopey and irritable and creepy all at the same time.

I swear this wasn't my usual self.

I hugged myself and sat down on my own bed. It was already a little after ten and I had to get up early to take Josh to the airport in Richmond. I was not looking forward to it, but I wanted to get in a little bit more time with him before he was gone.

Sighing, I went to get ready for bed.

~.~.~.~

The hour and a half ride to the airport was surprisingly quiet. Admittedly, it was six in the morning and I am not much of a morning person, but I was expecting a little more conversation. Instead, Josh fell asleep within fifteen minutes of getting into my beat-up 1998 Subaru Forester.

I had to shake him awake when I had parked at the airport. "Josh," I whispered. "Josh!"

His opened his eyes sleepily and he just looked so adorable scrunched up in his seat that I had to lean over and kiss his cheek. "We're here. Come on."

It was a short walk up to the front doors of the airport and luggage check and too short of a walk to security, the farthest point I could follow him to.

He dropped his carry-on from his shoulder and grabbed me up in a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight. I couldn't stop the feeling that I wouldn't get to do this again, that it wouldn't be the same when he came back.

"I wish you were coming with me," he whispered into my neck. "I love you so much."

I closed my eyes to keep myself from crying. "I love you, too."

He pulled me to arm's length and looked in my face. He noticed how upset I was and rubbed my shoulders gently. "Everything's going to be fine. You'll see."

I nodded slowly. He kissed me softly on the mouth, always the gentleman. I pulled him in closer, wanting to get as much out of the kiss as I could. I mean, hello, this one kiss had to last me three whole months!

After a minute of excellent kissing, we parted. I stood there as he grabbed up his bag and headed to the security line. He looked back to see if I were still there periodically and smiled every time he saw that I was. I didn't leave until he'd gotten through the whole line and was out of sight on the way to his terminal.

The ride home, although just as quiet as the ride there, was far more difficult to get through. Half way back to Roseville I had to pull over on the highway because the tears were starting to cloud my vision. It took me fifteen minutes to calm myself down enough to make it the rest of the way home.

Everything about Roseville was still the same. It was almost ten in the morning now and the townspeople were running errands or working or hanging out in the town square now that school was out. I passed the school sports field and saw some of my classmates playing frisbee. Another day I might have stopped my car and joined them, but today I just wanted to go home, grab the Ben & Jerry's out of the fridge and bemoan my miserable existence in bed.

When I pulled into the driveway, however, I realized that the universe had other plans.

My mother was by the mailbox, talking to a tall, handsome man in a fine, gray suit. It was Mayor McHenry. I got out of my car hesitatingly, knowing full well what must be waiting for me inside. My mother and the mayor waved to me and I gave them a halfhearted smile back as I headed to the front door. Just as I gripped the handle, the door flew open.

"We were starting to worry." Macey said.

She looked perfect in her jean shorts and floral top and her hair up in a high, high bun. It reminded me how much I probably looked like shit right now. I covered my face in my hands to hide my puffy eyes, but my friend pulled them down.

"Come on," she said pulling me into the house and closing the door, "the others are waiting."

She took me upstairs to my room where Bex and Liz were sprawled across my bed. They had my laptop on and were giggling about something they were reading on the screen. When they saw me, they both grabbed grocery bags from the floor and sat up.

"We have salt and vinegar chips - which are disgusting but whatever - and Hershey's and cookies and chocolate frosting." Bex said, rifling through her bag.

Liz did the same. "Chex mix, more chocolate, more chocolate, and more chocolate. And of course, ice cream but that's in the freezer."

I sniffed my nose. "You guys are the best."

They all smiled at me, and it wasn't with any pity or sadness for me. It was the smile of friendship and support. Macey rubbed her hand on my back. "We try." She said.

I laughed and sat down on the bed. For the rest of the day we all hung out on my bed, eating fattening foods and reading random things on the internet. And for a little while, I was able to forget about Josh sitting on a plane flying over the ocean. Flying away from me.

* * *

**LEAVE A REVIEW OR COMMENT IF YOU DON'T MIND!**

**I love your input. It is what will keep me updating. B)**


	3. Chapter 3

**So this chapter is a little shorter than I had hoped it would be but I did write it in a car so I'm gonna let myself off the hook. I hope you do, too. I do want to give a little forewarning about the future of this story: the progression of Cammie and Zach's relationship will be GRADUAL. I would really like to work on my character development in this story. Do not expect them to start making out next chapter because Cammie is still very much "in love" with Josh. Besides, half the fun is the chase, right?**

**Have faith in the eventual...and inevitable.**

**Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns the wonderful characters. I just own copies of the books.**

* * *

Chapter THREE

It had been three long days since Josh left. It felt like a part of me was missing, as if I were missing a limb and I was left with that nagging feeling of being slightly off balance. The summer stretched ahead of me as a big, long indescribable nothing.

In short, my mourning was starting to annoy a few people. My mother in particular.

"Cammie," she said with a little huff. "It is past noon and you are still in bed."

I buried my head under my pillow, futilely attempting to drown out my mom's no nonsense tone. "I'm tired."

"I'm sure you are. Sleeping all day is bound to overexert you."

I didn't miss the sarcasm. I pushed myself up on my elbows and looked at her. "Sleeping late is part of being a teenager."

She sat down on my bed and pushed some hair out of my face. "Not when that teenager is my daughter. You're usually pushing _me_ out of bed."

I sighed and tried to find a way to explain what I was feeling to my mother without her thinking I was incompetent without Josh. She already thought I spent too much time with him as it was. "I'm just...getting all the missing him out of my system now."

She looked at me unconvinced. "That's not how missing someone works."

"Well, it should be."

She smiled a little and gave me a comforting pat on the back. "Okay then," she said, "but you really need to get up. You work tonight and frankly, you stink."

I frowned and looked down at myself. Truthfully, my hygiene had been a little subpar the past couple days but did I really stink? I grabbed a lock of my hair and took a whiff of it.

Okay, I smelled a little.

I pushed off my sheets and headed to the bathroom to shower. Even if I didn't look good I figured I might as well try to look the part.

When I strolled through the diner doors four hours later for my shift I was washed, brushed, preened, and looking allover put together. I greeted my boss, Patricia, and headed to the back room to grab my waiter's apron. It was in there that I ran into Tina, my fellow waitress. She was a nice girl who always made work interesting and I often enjoyed her company, but she also had a tendency of being a gossip - and a nosy one at that.

Today was no different.

"Hey, Cam," she said tying her apron behind her back, "did you hear that Eva got grounded for sneaking out last night? Her parents are so intense. They even took her phone away!"

"Really." I watched the clock, waiting for it to be time for me to clock in. I really wasn't in the mood to mull over other people's problems when I was going through my own right now.

"Yeah, and apparently she was sneaking out to meet up with this boy she met at the bonfire last Friday - which you missed by the way." She gave me a stern look and then tilted her head. "What was his name again? Jack maybe? Or Max..."

Five fifteen on the dot. I grabbed my punch sheet and clocked in. Tina followed suit still trying to remember mystery boy's name. "I can't believe I'm blanking! I never forget a name."

"Maybe he wasn't very impressive."

Tina shook her head as we headed out of the back room. "From what Courtney told me, he's a total hunk."

"Whose a total hunk?" Patricia asked. She was standing behind the counter with a glass of soda in each hand.

Tina sighed as though someone had died. "I don't know."

"Well, isn't that just horrific!" Patricia chuckled and slipped passed the two of us. "Family of four just sat down in your section, Tina. Cameron, handle the party room tonight."

Tina and I nodded and split up. A few of the party guests had arrived already so I took their drink orders and brought them a plate of our gooey breadsticks - which was about as fancy as we got at Buckingham's Diner and Eatery (which we all affectionately referred to as Bucky's). I had worked here since I was sixteen, newly licensed and had discovered that Mom was perfectly fine with me having my own car as long as I could _afford_ the car. That meant paying for its gas, oil changes, routine check-ups (which were such a rip-off!) and all the other miscellaneous expenses that my dad's old Subaru demanded. I was ever thankful to Patricia for giving me the job when she didn't need the extra employee and I had always done my best to show my gratitude.

Even if that meant handling the party room. Bucky's was the town's birthday party destination for the three through ten year olds. I don't know when it got that stigma but it didn't show any signs of fading. Almost every night I came home from work, I had no more patience and another ruined shirt, whether it be from spilled soda or even the contents of some poor child's stomach.

At least the parents tipped well.

Tonight was Willy Sanders's eighth birthday party. His dad, Steve Sanders was the vice principal of Roseville High and a good friend of my mom's. I made some chit chat with him and his wife, Sandra, as we waited for his son's guests to arrive. He asked how my summer was going so far, and I said it was fine. I asked what his plans were this summer and he said they were going camping for the fourth of July.

"I ran into Joan Abrams at the grocery yesterday. She said Josh left for his trip already."

My smile fell a little as I nodded.

"That's got to be hard, him being so far away." He said. "Has he called?"

"Oh, yes. We've talked almost every night that he's been gone so far."

He nodded with me. "That's excellent. Excellent. I remember when I was your age, long distance relationships were so much more difficult. Now you've got the cell and computer and skype and all those other funky gadgets."

"Yeah, it's like he's not even gone." _If only._

Mitch Connors and his mom arrived then with Tony Alvarez. As I took their drink orders, I kept thinking about what Tina had been saying about Tony's older sister, Eva who I went to school with. She had always been a bit rebellious, breaking house rules and school codes alike.

For the first time, I wondered what it would be like to be single like Eva, sneaking out to hang out with boys I'd just met. Having spent the majority of my teen years dating Josh, I had to admit that I might not fully understand the concept of being a single lady anymore. I shook my head. I had Josh. There was no need and no desire for me to sneak out to see some random guy when I could just meet up with him, _the guy._

For the rest of the night, I kept the conversation strictly oriented around the customers. There were no more mentions of Josh.

~.~.~.~

"So what happened at work tonight?"

His voice was soothing and listening to it made me smile brighter than I had all day. Josh had that effect on people. "No more hectic than usual. Willy's little brother Sonny started crying half way through the gift opening when he realized he wasn't getting any presents."

"Ah, the beauty of being three."

I giggled and rolled onto my back. "How's it going being a hero?"

"I wouldn't say I'm a hero. Right now they've still got us getting oriented with everything and everyone we'll be working with. It's great. We do all these trust exercises and games to get to know each other."

"Trust exercises? Do you fall back onto each other or something?"

"Something like that."

"I'm glad you're having fun." I said. _I just wish you could have that fun here..._

"Yeah," he said. In the background I heard someone call his name. It sounded like a girl. "Oh, hey, I've got to go."

"I understand. Trust exercises and getting to know people and everything."

I could practically hear him smile through the phone. "I love you, Cam."

I closed my eyes. "Love you, too." I whispered and then he was gone.

And I was left with nothing but a phone and a half broken heart. I didn't have it in me to even try to mask the pain, so I just let the phone fall to the floor and covered my face in my hands. Before long I was sobbing, partly from the sadness and partly from the fact that I could no longer catch my breath and I was freaking out.

"Cammie?" My mom was knocking on my closed door. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

When I didn't respond, she came in and saw me. Without a word she crawled onto the bed next to me and hugged me to her. That night, I fell asleep in my mom's arms as she combed her hand through my hair and whispered over and over again that it was okay, things would get better soon. She didn't understand that I couldn't wait for _soon_. I needed better to be here _now._

* * *

**Leave a review. If you have any questions I'll do my best to clear them up for you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AWW! Mammoth chapter! I worked on it all vacation and I'm happy to say it's my longest update EVER (for any story with my one-shots aside). Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter FOUR

The light of a new day, shining through my open windows woke me up the next morning. I laid in bed for another moment, basking in the warm feeling the morning sun left in the air. My mother was no longer in my room having crept out in the middle of the night once I'd fallen asleep. I hadn't seen her leave though so I could only assume.

The radio alarm clock by my bed told me it was just after nine in the morning. It was the first time I'd woken up before noon since Josh left. It was also the first time in the past few days that I'd woken up and not felt like crying and shutting the rest of the world out. Perhaps I'd finally gotten all the waterworks out last night.

I really, _really _hoped so - for my sake and everyone else's.

I stumbled out of my bed and went across the hall into the bathroom to prepare myself for the day. When I exited twenty minutes later with my towel wrapped me and my wet hair dripping down my back, the acrid smell of something burning wafted up to me from downstairs. I rolled my eyes at my mom's continued attempts to be a kitchen aficionado and hurried to get dressed and see what food product she had mangled this time.

"Mom," I said as I came down the stairs, "what's burning?"

There was a clang down the hall in the kitchen. "Ow. Uh, nothing's burning!"

"Ma, my nose says otherwise." She was in front of the oven, holding a skillet in one hand and a cooking spatula in the other. There was what looked like the scattered remains of an overdone pancake at her feet. I quirked my eyebrows and gave her my standard look when it came to her escapades with food preparation.

She sighed. "I didn't think you were up yet. I was going to bring you pancakes in bed. I thought you might appreciate after last night."

The smile I gave was wobbly but genuine. "Thanks," I whispered.

She smiled back at me. "Just doing my job."

"Now, let me do mine." I nudged her out of my way and took over at the oven. Last summer the cook at Bucky's, Louis, had gotten fed up with some of my more interesting eating habits and taught me a few things about cooking. I was now the proud champion of breakfast foods. I rocked a mean omelet.

Ten minutes later, Mom and I were both seated at the table, wolfing down a pile of syrupy pancakes. Personally I was a bigger fan of waffles, but our waffle-maker had broken a month ago and we hadn't gotten around to getting a new one.

Mom took a breather from eating to grab us a couple of glasses of ice water. "Thanks for the food."

"Thanks for the water."

And that was all the conversation we had. She didn't ask me about last night like I know she wanted to for which I was eternally grateful for. That was the thing about my mother - while she was always there to offer her own special brand of tough love, she never pressed too hard where it hurt.

She finished up before and left to finish some paperwork at the school, saying she'd bring take out home for dinner and then I was home alone. I thought about calling up Bex to see if she wanted to come over and watch a movie but decided that I'd been lounging too much these past few days. Instead, I grabbed a pair of mismatched socks from the laundry room, slipped on my sneakers, and grabbed my iPod on the way out the back door.

It was a nice day out - not too humid or hot, with a gentle breeze that kept you just cool enough. I headed across the lawn to the path in the woods that the new neighbor, Zach, had surprised me at a few days ago. It didn't just loop back around to his backyard but branched off into trails all through the woods in town. Most people didn't know their way around them, but I used to run for hours with my dad on them. When I got tired he would let me climb on his back, and we would just walk around, taking random trails to see where we'd turn up.

Those were some of my happiest memories with my dad and the woods were still one of my favorite places to run. The way the light slashed through the leaves and dappled the ground was so magnificent, it was almost like another world.

I'd been jogging maybe half an hour, listening to my go-to Running Playlist to keep me pumped up when someone appeared around the corner on the path ahead of me. I slowed down because the path I was on was too narrow for two people to pass by each other without a collision and moved off to side. Instead of passing me like most people did, the runner slowed their own pace and came to stop in front of me. It was the new neighbor boy jackass, Zach.

He gave me a small smile and said something but I couldn't hear him over the volume of my music. I pulled my earbuds out. "What?"

"You listen to CCR when you run." He gestured at my iPod.

"Uh, yeah."

He showed me his own iPod which showed the album artwork of Creedence Clearwater Revival's greatest hits album. "I do, too."

My eyes met his in surprise. "Really? Not many people in town have even heard of them and the ones that have don't like them."

He shook his head in mock shame. "But the classics are the best!"

I nodded in agreement. "I know! There's just...more emotion than in the music on the radio now."

"Well at least there's one sane person in Roseville."

He was smiling at me, and for some reason it made me blush. Thankfully, my cheeks were already red from the exercise so I doubt he noticed.

"So are you strictly CCR or do you love all oldies?" He asked.

"I listen to whatever." I said quickly, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "My oldies collection really isn't that big. Just CCR, Fleetwood Mac, and the like."

"Cool." Zach said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen, would you - "

I cut him off. "I should probably get back to my run."

"Right." His hand dropped and he looked at me for a moment. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other. I don't know what it was about Zach that made me feel so...edgy. All I knew was that one minute we were having a comfortable conversation about music and the next I wanted to run the other way.

Like he was dangerous.

He moved out of my way on the path. "Have a fun run, neighbor."

I put my earbuds back in. "You, too."

I started moving again and was soon jogging my normal pace, but suddenly, John Fogerty's voice didn't feel quite the same to me as before. I couldn't put my finger on why, but it still seemed wrong to listen to the music anymore in my peaceful woods.

I switched my playlists.

~.~.~.~

That afternoon I met up with Macey at her house. As the political alpha of our small town, Mr. McHenry was a true patriot and fan of Capitol Hill. He and his wife had designed their home in a style reminiscent of the grand white one on Pennsylvania Avenue. When I arrived, the live-in butler escorted me to the parlor where Macey was sitting on the persian rug in front of the mammoth, unlit fireplace.

"Good, you're here." She said. She was paging through a _Cosmo_ but set it aside as I sat next to her. "I wanted to talk to you in person. Now, I know you've been having a hard time adjusting to Josh being gone and I don't blame you, but I also don't want to lose you."

I grabbed her hands in mine. "I know. I've been a little lost in outer space, but I promise I am not going to go all crazy. I want this summer to be fun." I raised our joined hands and yelled, "Senior year!"

She laughed. "Hell yeah, baby!"

Her grin dimmed a little and she got serious again. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yes." I said, almost believing myself. "I feel more like myself again every day."

She looked at me intently for a moment before sighing and moving on. "Alright. Anyways, I called you over here because we have to start planning our summer getaway. I'm thinking this year we'll camp out a nice spa for a few days. We can get steamed and massaged and waxed and all zenned out. It'll be great!"

"I don't think I'll be getting zen if there's waxing involved." I commented, but Macey just rolled her eyes at me. Though she had been born in the same small town I had been born and raised in, she was clearly meant for city life. Her attitude and mannerisms screamed of a certain sophistication that Roseville, for all its wonderful qualities, just couldn't equal. Where I was scared of a little extreme grooming, Macey rushed head on into them. Where I got along with all of my neighbors and knew just about everyone around town, Macey disliked anyone that couldn't tell their satin from their taffeta.

"Oh, hush," she said. "It'll only sting for a minute and then you'll be good as new. Like pulling off a bandaid."

"A really heavy-duty bandaid." I muttered. She made a face at me and I laughed. She and I might never see eye to eye on the intensity by which we groomed, but I knew that she would always be there to be a rock for me just like I would always be there for her.

I pushed myself up from the floor. "I'm hungry. You got anything good to eat?"

She stood up as well and led the way to the kitchen. "Lola," she called for the McHenry family cook, "did you go to the store yet?"

There was no response and when we got to the kitchen, no one was there to greet us and there was no signature aroma of some fresh-baked good coming from the oven. Macey shrugged. "She must be out getting supplies right now, which means..." She pulled open the giant freezer door and pulled out a plastic container. "All we have is ice cream."

I smiled mischievously at her. "I think we'll manage just fine."

When Lola got back from the grocery store a half an hour later, Macey and I were sitting at the kitchen counter licking our spoons, the ice cream having mysteriously vanished. The white-haired woman just shook her head at us and said something about the wonders of youthful metabolisms.

It was the happiest I'd been in days.

~.~.~.~

As I turned back into my neighborhood that night, my Subaru had a tantrum. The poor car had seen so many days that it was officially classified as a VIP senior citizen by all the other cars in the school parking lot - seriously, my friends joked that I should be allowed preferred parking.

Now, my car was giving me no choice but to park. I pulled off to the shoulder of the road and powered down my baby. I dialed my mom as I got out and popped the hood, but there was no answer.

Looking down at my car's engine, I heaved a great sigh. I knew nothing about engines, and the local mechanic had closed up shop for a family reunion in South Carolina. He wouldn't be back until next Monday. I was too afraid to tinker around by myself and mess anything up and couldn't think of anyone nearby who could help me.

I was just admitting defeat and preparing to leave my mom a voicemail about my predicament when a pair of headlights blinded my vision.

The car came to a stop in front of me, and the lights turned off. The driver's door opened, and the person said, "Is everything alright?"

It was a voice that I recognized though I'd only heard it a couple of times. Neighbor boy jackass.

"My car," I said waving my hand at the upright hood. "It's finicky."

He came over and took my place in front of the hood. There was a little bit of steam leaking out now, and it was making me panicky. The last thing I needed was for my car to blow up the new neighbor. My mother would never forgive me. "Look, there's really no need for you to do that." I said. "I'll figure it out."

He stood up. "Good, because I know shit about engines."

"Then why..."

He smirked and shrugged his shoulders at me. "It seemed like the neighborly thing to do."

His phone rang, and he grabbed it from his pocket, turning away from me. I returned to looking mournfully at my car, wishing I'd taken some sort of mechanics class in school. Zach was saying something to the other person on the line, but I wasn't focusing enough on his words to follow on to the conversation. I heard him say goodbye and snap his phone shut, and then he was next to me.

"Don't worry. I'll get your car fixed for you."

I looked up at him. He was a good few inches taller than me so it was a bit of a stretch for my neck when he was this close. "Thanks for the chivalry, but I don't know how you can help."

Just then another car pulled onto the street, pouring light onto my and Zach's cars. It slowed down and then stopped dead in the middle of the street next to Zach's car. A woman popped out of it and walked toward the two of us.

"What happened?" She said. "Did you crash the car already, Zachary?"

He laughed. "No, this is our neighbor. Her car broke down."

She tilted her head at him. "You expect me to believe that you stopped to be _gracious?_ Come on, Zach. I know you better than that."

She said it with humorously and was smiling at him so I took it that she didn't actually believe him to be a narcissist. She turned to look at me and I immediately noticed the resemblance between her and the boy next to me. They both had dark eyes and angular jaws (although there was something hers that made it distinctively feminine) and they both had the same olive skin tone that I had always envied. She looked too young to be his mother, though.

"Nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Abby, Zach's sister."

_That explains it._

"I'm Cammie." I replied in a small voice because even though she was the same height as me, she was decidedly more intimidating than I could ever hope to be.

Abby smiled brightly at me. "So what seems to be the matter with your car?"

I motioned toward the engine. "It was running weird and then it stopped. Now it's smoking."

She walked over to my car, pushing Zach playfully out of the way. Her head disappeared under the hood as she inspected my troublesome engine. I bit my lip as I waited for her to finish. After a minute or so she looked back at me and slapped her hands together. "It looks like a simple case of overheating. Just let it cool down for awhile. I can look at it again for you tomorrow morning if you'd like though."

"Really?" I said surprised. "Nothing's broken or loose or anything?"

She laughed a little. "Nope. I can check better tomorrow for you though."

"That would be great! Just let me know how much you charge." I grabbed my purse off my seat through my open window and pulled out my wallet, but she pushed it away.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not a mechanic." I knit my eyes together, and she quickly explained. "I dated a guy once who was totally into cars. Most of our dates were in his garage, working on these old cars that needed every single kind of work done on them."

"Oh."

"It was a long six months, but I learned a lot!"

She laughed and I could hear Zach chuckling behind me. I could kind of see the humor in it so I smiled. "Anyways, thank you. I guess I'll just wait for this to...cool down."

She shook her head. "That'll be awhile. Why don't you let Zach drop you off at home and I'll go and make sure it's okay to leave your car parked outside of this person's house overnight."

I hesitated for a second, feeling like I should be the one to check on that sort of thing but she looked so earnest, and then Zach was behind me saying, "Come on, it's not like your house is out of the way or anything."

So I thanked Abby again and made sure my car was locked up before I headed over to Zach's car. When I got in, I was hit by that wonderful new car smell and instantly relaxed against the smooth, creme-colored leather seat. Zach was already in the driver's seat and once I got in he was off, the car gliding across the pavement like we were on satin wheels.

It was silent on the short drive and when he parked in his driveway and didn't get out of his car right way, I started to feel awkward again like I had this morning. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem." He said. He took a deep breath. "There's something I wanted to ask you this morning - "

"I have a boyfriend."

I don't know why I said that. I felt awkward and shy and altogether not myself around Zach. All I knew was that sitting there in that car with him in the dark felt like I was deceiving Josh somehow, like I was taking advantage of his absence.

Zach had a slightly confused expression on his face. "Okay?" He shook his head. "Anyways, - "

"It's just," I said apparently not done embarrassing myself, "in case you didn't know. I'm taken. I have a boyfriend that I love, and I'm not going to do anything to hurt that - him. Hurt him."

He nodded like he knew what I was talking about which I'm sure he didn't because even I was confused as to what exactly was coming out of my mouth. "Great. I'm sure he's a keeper."

"He is."

"How charming."

It was quiet in the car again. I looked down at my hands. "What were you going to say?"

He laughed a little. "Are you sure you can keep yourself from interrupting me this time?"

I nodded and ran my fingers across my lips like I was locking them up and throwing away the key. He turned in his seat so he was looking at me more straight on, and I automatically shrunk back in my seat a little.

"I was hoping you might be willing to go running with me sometime."

He was looking me right in the eye, and for a second, I almost forgot to respond. "You want to go running with me?"

"Yeah, you seem to know your way around those freaking woods, and this morning when I ran into you, I'd been running in there for two hours. I couldn't find my way out."

I laughed out loud imagining him running in circles with a big question mark sign hanging over his head. "It isn't funny!" He yelled but he sounded like he was holding back a laugh, too. "It was damn nerve-wracking!"

I struggled to get my laughing under control but another giggle leaked out. He was shaking his head at me, a smile on his face. I leaned against the back of my seat. "Alright, I'm sorry. I'm sure it was a very traumatic experience for you."

"It was."

I nodded, still laughing in my head and decided to take a risk. "I'll meet you by the swing-set tomorrow at ten." I said and before he could respond, I opened up my door and slipped out.

I hurried across the lawn to my front door. When I turned to look back at him in his car, the driver's side was empty. He was at his front door, too. Looking at me. I smiled and waved and then went inside.

It wasn't until I was halfway asleep that I realized I hadn't talked to Josh that day. I sat up straight and grabbed my phone where it was charging on my desk. I had a number of unanswered texts from my friends because we were planning our summer getaway and two missed calls from Josh. They were around the time I had run into Zach and Abby.

I hadn't even heard it ring.

* * *

**Zach wants to know your favorite classic rock song/band!**

**Let him know in a** **_REVIEW!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**It's been a while since my last update. I know. August got busy with work and the impending arrival of school. Updates might be a little erratic now that school has started up. Gotta put the work in if you want the honors diploma, right?**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer:** _All the rights for the GG series belong Ally Carter. I am but a humble fan. :)__  
_

* * *

Chapter FIVE

My sleep was restless that night. I was wracked with guilt over the fact that I had missed Josh's call. When my alarm went off at nine I was already sitting with my back against the headboard, twisting my hands in my blankets. I was staring blankly out my window as my mom called up the stairs when she called out that she was leaving for the day.

Eventually, my clock stopped ringing the alarm. My vision was getting blurry from staring outside for so long without blinking. There was a pounding noise in my head that I attributed to my annoying alarm clock.

It wasn't until I heard a door open downstairs even though my mother had left that I turned my eyes away from the window.

"Hello?" A voice called. It was Zach's voice. "Anybody home?"

I closed my eyes and banged the back of my head up against the headboard. I had been so immersed in thoughts of Josh that I had completely forgotten about meeting Zach for a run. I looked at the clock. It was almost ten-thirty.

I slipped out of my bed just as I heard footsteps on the stairs. I cast a glance at myself in the mirror and was startled at the sight. Somehow I had gotten a rat's nest on the right side of my head and my skin looked so pale I could have been mistaken as the Cullen cousin that got the short end of the stick when it came time to draw for the gorgeous chromosome.

"Cammie?" Zach appeared behind me in the mirror. "Sorry to barge in, but..."

He trailed off as he took in my appearance. "Are you okay?" He asked.

I opened my lips to say I was fine, that everything was fine. I was prepared to lie and say that I'd slept through my alarm and that I was sorry but I'd be ready in a minute for our run. But something in the way he looked me in the eyes through the mirror's reflection kept me from getting the words out.

I gave what I meant to be a laugh but that came out closer to a huff. "You must think I'm pretty weird."

He shrugged and said, "Well, I'm not in a place to judge. I did break into your house."

I cracked a little smile and sat back down onto the edge of my bed. I heard him hesitate at the entrance to the room and turned to look at him. "You might as well come in."

He humphed and rubbed his hand against his jaw before walking the few short steps to my bed and sitting down next to me. The edge of his t-shirt sleeve tickled against the bare skin of my upper arm, and my eyes focused on it. He noticed and scooted a little further away from me.

"Uh, so," he said, not looking directly at me. "Why so down?"

I pursed my lips. "That's kind of a personal question, don't you think?"

"Well, yeah." He rolled his eyes. "But following traditional conventions is a sissy thing to do."

"And you aren't a sissy?"

He looked at me with a joking stare. "Are you saying that I am?"

I elbowed his side and froze for a second. I struggled to continue the conversation without letting on how awkward I suddenly felt. I couldn't shake the feeling of guilt as I sat there joking with another boy while my boyfriend was gone helping the underprivileged. "Sorry for, uh, forgetting about the run."

He nodded slowly. "It's cool. Do you want to reschedule for another time?"

"No, no, I can go now," I hurried to say. "Just give me a minute to get ready and I'll be out."

"Okay." He smiled at me and it crinkled the corners of his eyes adorably. I looked away quickly. He stood up from the bed. "I'll just...wait downstairs."

He headed to the door and I stood up. "Wait!"

He turned to look at me again, his hand on the door frame. His head was quirked to the side and I suddenly felt like I was in the spotlight. My skin felt flushed and my hands were clammy and the room seemed incredibly closed in and hot. Had my mom forgotten to turn on the air conditioning or something?

"Yeah?"

"I just..." I said. When I realized I was making weird, swooping hand gestures, I clasped the rampant appendages together in front of me. "It's just..."

I trailed off as his look got more confused. For the first time I realized what amazing eyes he had. They were this amazing emerald color and when the sunlight hit them, they got these flecks of golden light in them. I shook my head.

"BOYFRIEND!" I yelled.

He took a step back and laughed nervously. "Uh, what?"

"I have a boyfriend. That's what I'm upset about!" _OH. MY. GOD._

He smiled. "The fact that you have a boyfriend?"

I shook my hands wildly at him. "No, no, no," I said. "_No. _That's not what I meant. Josh is great. I mean, he's...Josh!"

"Well that clear's that up."

I gave a little squeak. What the _hell _was wrong with me? "He's gone for the summer and I just...I'm having some trouble..."

I wracked my head for the right word but Zach beat me to it. "Adjusting?"

"Yes! That is exactly it. Exactly."

"O-kay."

_Dear God, please kill me now._

I truly, truly wished I could disappear right now. I wanted to curl up into myself like a turtle and just wait out the storm. Although at the rate I was embarrassing myself at, it would be a few decades before I could live this down. Zach probably thought I was freaking senile.

I scrunched my face and hid it in my hands. "I'm sorry. I'm such a spaz."

"No, it's fine." He said, still standing by the door. I was surprised he hadn't run for the safety of his own house yet where the mad neighbor couldn't get at him. "I get it."

"Oh, so you have a boyfriend spending the summer in the Caribbean, too?"

He laughed. "Nope. I'm afraid not." He took a deep breath. "But I do know that it can't be easy being separated from someone you care about. So, if you need someone to talk to..."

I looked at him disbelievingly. "You want to have a share circle and tell each other our feelings?"

"Hell, no!" He said. "But Abby should be home in a couple hours for lunch and she loves to listen. As a man, I am physically incapable of that feat."

I smiled at him. "Yes, I suppose you are."

We were quiet for another minute. Then he rapped his knuckles against the door frame and said, "So, I'll be downstairs."

I nodded, and he closed the door behind himself. Silently, I dressed into some athletic clothes and slipped across the hall to the bathroom to brush my teeth and comb my hair. When I saw my face up-close for the first time that morning, I was mortified at how obvious it was that I had just been in bed. And I thought my tangled hair had been embarrassing. Admittedly, I didn't look half as bad as I had the first couple days after Josh had left, but I was still a far cry from looking healed.

I splashed some water on my face and patted it dry before heading downstairs, not bothering to put on makeup. There was no point: I wasn't trying to impress anyone and it would all come off running anyways.

Zach was sitting at the kitchen table when I got to the main floor of the house. He was flipping through the _People_ magazine my mom had left on the table last night. He must have heard me enter the room because before I could say anything he spoke. "You know, _People_ always has such inspiring stories." He turned another glossy page. "I wonder how many of them are true."

"I would hope all of them. They are a bit more reputable than the daily gossip rags." I opened the pantry door and grabbed a granola bar. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"Nah, I ate earlier." He reached the end of the magazine where the crossword my mother always liked to attempt - but was never able to complete - stared back up at him in bold black and white. "Are you any good at these?"

"Not even a little. My mom likes to do them though." I sat in the seat across from him. "She says they keep her mind fresh."

He picked up the pen my mom had been using for the crossword last night and spun it through his fingers. "Hey, you could probably get this one. What's six letters long and another way of saying 'down in the dumps'?"

I roll my eyes. "Insulting me in my own home? That won't do you any good if you ever want to lose your official title as the jackass next door."

"Who said I wanted to lose that title? It makes me sound badass."

"Or imply that you resemble a donkey."

He quirked an eyebrow at me. "Do I look like an ass to you?"

I shrugged. "Depends upon the ass."

He smiled and looked back at the newspaper. "So, six letter word."

"I don't know." I took a bite out of my granola bar. "Morose?"

He nods and writes it down. A grin breaks out on his face, and he looks up at me. "3 down: Mules, hinnies, and such."

"Well, that's easy. They're obviously your cousins."

He laughed and for a minute we just smiled at each other. It's surprising how easily I can joke around with Zach when I'm not freaking myself out and getting awkward. He may just be unworthy of his official title as Zach the Jackass. Maybe he's just Zach. For a second, I considered actually asking him his male opinion on my boyfriend being gone for the summer, but I quickly killed that idea. Just because I may or may not find some comfort in the new neighbor's company does not mean that we needed to swap life stories. He seemed like a nice enough guy now that he'd been in town for a few days, but I barely knew anything about him or the multitude of skeletons he could be hiding in his own closet.

For the first time, I realized that I didn't even know his last name. I leaned back in my chair as he jotted down another answer to the crossword. "What's your last name, Zach?"

"Goode. Yours?"

"Morgan."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Morgan."

"Likewise, Mr. Goode." I've finished my breakfast by now and I crumpled the noisy wrapping into a ball. "Ready to go?"

He set the pen and magazine back down on the table. "Yep. Let's hit the road."

I led him to the back door where I slipped into my own running shoes. They were a little worn and starting to form holes at the tips but I was reluctant to get a new pair when these ones were so comfy. It was a quasi-philosophy on life of mine: if it ain't broke, why fix it.

I opened the door for him, and we stepped out onto the deck. "So we'll start here, and I figure I'll show you how to get to the park through the woods. Then we'll take the path back to your own yard."

"Sounds good."

I bit my lip and nodded. At the edge of woods, I stopped to stretch. I pulled my leg behind me as Zach did wall pushups against the support beam of the swing set. My eyes were drawn to his biceps as they grew more defined from the stretch. I swallowed and forced myself to look away.

"Uh, okay. Let's go." I said. He stood up straight and turned to look me straight on. "Just...follow my lead."

"With pleasure."

A smirk spread across his face. Something twisted in my gut and it occurred to me that I might just be crossing into uncharted territory. Who knew what might be lurking in those shadowy waters?

* * *

**Show Zach some love and leave a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I'm working on an update for _Frog Snails_, I am. It's just proving difficult. I keep losing track of my book and taking Zach's perspective is way trickier than one might think. It'll go up. Eventually.**

**For now, here's this update. Hope you like it. :)**

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Gallagher Girls series or its characters._**  
**

* * *

Chapter SIX

Over the next two weeks, I fell into a sort of routine. I'd get up at nine to get ready and eat breakfast before heading to the backyard to meet Zach by the woods. We would run all around town in those woods. The paths went all over. I showed him how to get to the park and the school and all the best places to hang out with friends. After that, we would sit out on my deck and drink lemonade. Sometimes, Bex or Macey would stop by and chat with us.

One day, about three weeks after Josh had left, we were sitting outside when Macey asked Zach why he'd moved to Roseville.

Zach's answer came easily so I knew he must not have had strong objections to the move. "Abby got a job offer. It was a big move but it was a pretty good offer. The timing of it was pretty good, too."

"Where did you live before?" I asked.

"Minneapolis. Abby did her graduate work at the U of M."

"Psychology, right?"

He nodded and gave me a wide grin. "My sophomore year she tried to get my principal to reenact the Zimbardo study with high school students. He did not take the advice well."

Macey laughed. "I can't imagine why."

I finished the last of my drink and stood up to get more from the kitchen. "Anyone want something to eat?"

"Yes," Macey exclaimed, "make me a sammich, woman!"

I rolled my eyes and went into the house. The air-conditioning was running and the cool air brought goose bumps to my skin. The hum of the ice-maker in the fridge was the only sound in the kitchen as I poured myself another glass of lemonade.

And then my phone rang on the counter by the sink, freaking the shit out of me and causing lemonade to go flying all over the kitchen.

"Holy shit." I gasped in shock as the cold drink drenched my clothes.

I grabbed a handful of paper towels on my way to my cell. I answered it with one hand as the other padded the particularly wet parts of me. "Hello?"

"Cam, hey." It was Josh.

I stood up straighter and my hand froze mid-pat. "Josh, oh my gosh. I wasn't expecting your call."

"Did I get you at a bad time?" He sounded worried, and I hurried to console him.

I shook my head as though he could see me. "No, no. I was just surprised is all. Happily surprised! What's up?"

I hopped up onto the counter behind me only to land in a wet spot. I grimaced and scooted over a little although that did nothing to make up for the fact that my ass was already soaked.

"Everything's going great here. We're getting ready to move on to Port-au-Prince. We'll be there until mid-July and then we'll go on to Havana and Kingston and Kingstown."

"Kingston and Kingstown?"

"Yeah, Jamaica and then St. Vincent and the Grenadines."

I sighed. "You sure are putting a lot of stamps on your passport."

"It's amazing, Cam. You really should have come." He said. "Everyone here is so great. I mean, I told you about DeeDee."

Ugh, DeeDee. Her name had been popping up every time we talked for the past two weeks. In the occasional email he'd send me, he would spend half three-fourths of it explaining some adventure DeeDee and he had taken. DeeDee was from South Carolina and was captain of the equestrian club at her school. DeeDee did over five hundred hours of community service last summer alone. DeeDee was this and Dee was that.

I wanted to punch DeeDee. She had completely captivated my boyfriend with her caring heart and all-around American sweetie-pie attitude. It made me nauseous.

Admittedly, she was a nice girl (which I knew first-hand because Josh had insisted on introducing us over the phone), and I doubted she was actually trying to steal the guy I loved. Still, it was hard not to feel insecure when she got to spend the whole summer with him and show-off how she was so much better suited for my nice-guy boyfriend than I was. I mean, I volunteered but only because Josh did, and I wanted us to do more things together as a couple.

I know, I had no compassion for the needy.

"Did you know," Josh said and I just knew he was going to say something else about how great DeeDee was, "that DeeDee plays the guitar _and _ the banjo? The group had some rec time last night after I talked to you and we went into town and ate at this karaoke bar, and DeeDee got up and played this song called 'Hand in Hand' and wow. She's a really good musician!"

I swallowed back my irritation. "That's great."

"Yeah." He sighed. "So do you have any plans today? I don't have anywhere to go for the next hour or so."

I started to reply but the sound of my name cut me off. "Hold on a sec." I told Josh.

"Cam?" Macey called as she turned the corner into the kitchen. She came to a halt as she noticed the dripping counter and the puddle I was sitting. A laugh escaped her. "Oh my god."

"I know."

She shook her head and said, "Zach and I were thinking about going to Bucky's for lunch. You in?"

I bit my lip. "Actually..."

For the first time, she noticed the phone in my hand. "Oh, don't say it."

"Say what?" Zach's voice called from the back door.

"She's going bail on us to make gooey eyes at her phone."

Zach came up behind Macey and quirked his head at me. "Is it true? Are you picking an inanimate object over us? Because if you are, I'm offended."

I made a face at him. "No. I'm picking my boyfriend over you two."

"Some might consider that dependency issues." Macey commented.

"Some might consider you a bitch but I pay no mind to that either."

Macey put her hands on her hips. "Ha ha. Real mature, Morgan."

"What can I say. I'm a classy lady. Now, shoo."

I brought the phone back up to my ear and turned away from the two of them. "Hey, Josh. I'm back."

He didn't respond but there were voices talking in the background so I knew we hadn't gotten disconnected. "Josh?"

"What? Oh, hey." He said, drawing out the end of his greeting. "Listen, I actually have to go now. I forgot that the group leader agreed to let DeeDee and me go to the beach with some of the others."

"Oh."

"I'll call you later, though. Okay?"

"Right." My voice was thick with sudden disappointment. "See you. Or not see you, I guess."

He laughed a little. "Hear you later, babe."

"Yeah, hear you -" He hung up and the other end was silent now. I brought the phone down from my ear and slouched my shoulders. My hands gripped the edge of the counter as I stared down at my lap. A shadow passed over my shoulder and then Macey was standing by my side, looking at me.

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry."

I shrugged and tried to brush off the fact that my boyfriend had chosen DeeDee over me as no big deal. "Why? Nothing's wrong. Josh had to go do some volunteering thing. He'll call later."

Macey's gaze shifted behind me. "What do you think, Zach? In your male opinion, is Cammie telling the truth or is she bullshitting all the way?"

"Oh, definitely bullshitting." Zach said. He came up on my other side and laid a hand on my shoulder. Even through the fabric of my jersey, I could feel a little spark through me. Did the boy drag his feet everywhere he went? "But we don't need her to tell us the truth."

"No?"

"Nope. Because we'll be here either way."

I looked up into Zach's face and he was looking back at me. For all his annoying tendencies (and there were plenty that I'd discovered over the past two weeks), Zach also had these moments of stunning sweetness. He was like a walking contradiction. He had the looks of a player but aside from the occasional suggestive comment he rarely flirted with any of my friends. He liked guacamole but hated avocado. He liked classic rock but not any other oldies music. He was a jackass but he was kind.

Zachary Goode expertly avoided definition.

And it was as I was looking at Zach that something switched in me and suddenly, I couldn't stop the words coming out of my mouth.

"My boyfriend is being inadvertently seduced by a well-meaning tramp! And I can't do anything except sit and listen to it happen. I can't even see it happen which almost makes it worse because if I could see it happening then that would mean that I would be there, physically, and able to stop it!" I said, whipping my head around to look at Macey. My voice was rising into a yell. "And I'm trying to be happy for him because he's off doing something that makes him feel good and feel like he's making a difference, but every time I imagine him there helping out, she's right next to him in all her bubbly blonde glory and I just want to punch someone!"

Zach scooted a little farther away from me so that he was out of arms reach. I guess his kindness only went so far. I couldn't blame him. I might be on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Why didn't you tell us about any of this earlier?" Macey asked.

I shrugged and traced the countertop with my finger, suddenly feeling shy. "Maybe because I felt ashamed? Josh is off volunteering for people who are barely surviving and here I am whining because my boyfriend is out of town. Plus, I mean, part of me knows that I'm blowing the DeeDee thing out of proportion. She seems like a nice girl, really." I mumbled the last part, reluctant to say it but knowing I should.

"Nice girl or not, we totally would have taken your side and called her a homewrecker." Macey wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "That's what friends do when their friends go psychotic. They don't institutionalize them; they stick by them one hundred percent."

I laughed a little. "Thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

"It really, really should."

I took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. "This just isn't how I pictured the summer before senior year."

Zach snorted behind me. I turned to glare at him. "What?"

He shook his head and said, "Nothing. It's just the idea that you had plans for this summer."

"Yeah, so? Plans are good."

"For some maybe." He paused to think for a second. "Like accountants. Or the OCD."

"Well, that's a little offensive."

"Most of life is offensive," he said, "that isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you let yourself get hung up on all the crap that happens in your life, you'll miss the great moments."

"Get to your point, Goode."

"Alright, then." He grabbed my shoulders and turned so that we faced each other fully. "Cameron Morgan, you need to stop looking at life like a series of steps. It's not some logical equation that you can solve by punching a few numbers into your calculator. It's far more simple than that which makes it all the more complicated."

I tilted my head. "What?"

"I'm saying you're seventeen! What the hell are you doing settling down already?"

I rolled my eyes at him, understanding what he was trying to tell me. "I'm not going to dump my boyfriend, Zach. I love him."

He held his hands up in defense. "I'm not saying dump the guy. I'm just advising you not to tie all your strings to him."

"I'm not." I said quickly. But then a little voice inside my head said, _Aren't you?_

I had been with Josh so long that I was having trouble keeping myself together without him. It's one thing to be part of a couple - it's fun and exhilarating and hopefully, full of love - but when being in a couple becomes what you center your life around, you're crossing into dangerous territory. Was I unable to be myself without being with Josh anymore?

Could I find myself again without him?

I shook my head. "I don't know, guys. I don't even really know what it is you want from me."

It was Macey who spoke this time. "We want to have conversations with you that don't lead back to Josh. We want you to smile at us and not at something Josh told you earlier. We want just Cammie."

Zach nodded. "Because guess what. Just Cammie is kind of just a blast."

"You think I'm a blast?" I covered my cheeks with my palms like I was blushing and giggled. "Well, isn't that just super."

"Many parts of me are."

"Yeah, like your engorged head."

He smirked at me, and now I blushed for real. "Ew! No, not that kind of head. Gross, gross mental image!"

He and Macey laughed at my faux pas, and I hung my head in shame. I felt a smile lurking around the corners of my lips and realized that yet again, my friends had managed to pull me out of my funk. In the next second, I was stunned to realize that in the past two weeks, Zach had morphed from my cocky new neighbor into my cocky new friend who tried to cheer me up and twisted my words into dirty thoughts.

Years of reading _Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul _had prepared me for a lot of things - loss of a pet, a friend, a family member - but they had forgotten to teach me how to combat a boy with quick wit and a girl with hawk eyes. I was outnumbered with these two and if I wasn't careful, they might just take over my life and run it better than I did.

And what do you when you can't beat the enemy? You join them.

I sighed. "Fine, enlighten me, oh wise ones. How do I become 'just Cammie?'"

"Well, for one," Macey said, "you go out to lunch with us."

"And two," Zach said, facing his hand palm up in front of me, "you hand over the mobile device. No calls, no texting, and certainly no more hanky panky from Mr. Nice Guy."

I gave him a glare to let him know that his joke was falling flat on this audience but begrudgingly handed him the phone anyways. He deftly popped open the back and slipped out the battery. He smiled at me cherubically. "Thank you, madam. You'll get this back once you've earned it."

"Why are you talking to me like a kindergartener who's just gotten in trouble for drawing on the walls with permanent marker?" I asked as I was led out of the kitchen toward the front door.

"Probably because in a way you are a kindergartener." Macey said. "You're starting from square one, Cam. All these years of being with Josh have left you naive to the life a single person. And let me tell you, it's no easy world to live in."

"Macey, guys ask you out all the time."

She shrugged indifferently. "None that are up to scratch."

We headed outside and across the grass to Zach's car. I felt like I was a sheep being shepherded by these two ranchers who, in fact, weren't taking me back to the barn like I thought but to the butcher. I quickly discarded that thought. Zach and Macey weren't serial killers.

Or were they?

The two of them exchanged a smile as we loaded into Zach's car with me in the back. They looked so pleased with themselves, like they'd just run a marathon or outdone Einstein's Theory of Relativity and reshaped modern science.

No, they were most definitely not serial killers.

Just serially awesome.

* * *

**Haha! Did you like all my silly word twists? I did. But that's my kind of humor.**

**Hugs and kisses from Zach to all you lovely readers!**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, it's been a while since my last update. I'm so SORRY! School is really hectic and stressful and kicking my butt.**

**I do have some good news to share with you since my last post, though. _I got accepted into college_! Yay! Now, if I can just stop procrastinating and watching How I Met Your Mother, then I should be able to write those last three essays for my next college application...**

**Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

**BTW to my reviewers for bugging me to update. This chapter has been mostly written for about three weeks now. I just needed that little push to finish it up. :)**

* * *

Chapter SEVEN

Macey and Zach had pushed me out the door so fast that we were halfway to Bucky's when I realized I was still in my lemonade drenched top and that I'd left the kitchen a complete mess.

"My mom is going to kill me." I said, leaning my head against the glass of the car window.

"No, she won't." Macey replied in her no-nonsense tone. To be honest, I was forgetting what her normal voice sounded like these days. Or did she sound like this all the time now and not just around me? "You're mother has never been able to stay mad at you for anything. Ever."

"That's not true." I said, crossing my arms. "There was the time we started that food fight in the school cafeteria."

"Which is the annual end of year soirée at Roseville Junior High. Everyone comes to school with rain slickers in their bags, and no one ever gets called to the principal's office."

I was silent for a minute as we pulled into Bucky's parking lot. "Yeah, well, you should have seen the look on her face when I got home that night."

"Cammie, I've known you since the age of diapers. You can't lie to me." Macey gave me a stern look. "I know your every weakness."

I carefully avoided making eye contact with her and twiddled my thumbs. "Whatever." I mumbled.

I could practically hear her smug smile.

At Bucky's, the three of us slipped into an empty booth near the back. Macey was across from me and Zach was sitting next to me, blocking my exit path. While we glanced at the menus, Macey kicked me underneath the table. I jumped and shot her an accusatory glare but she just ticked her head.

I squinted at her, confused. "What?" I asked.

She shook her head quickly as Zach looked up from his menu to look at the two of us. "What's up?"

Macey smiled at him sweetly. "Nothing. I think I'm gonna get the cobb salad."

"The cobb salad?" I said. Macey only got salad when she was interested in a guy. But she wasn't interested in anybody, was she? She hadn't said anything and the only guy she'd been hanging out with lately was Zach. I watched her for a moment as she folded the corners of her napkin together so that it was triangle. Her eyes darted over to Zach, and she smiled a little. "Oh my god."

She whipped her head up to look at me looking at Zach with complete aghast on my face. She kicked me again. "Hey, Cam, I have to go to the bathroom. Do you?"

I was still gaping at her and subsequently stumbled over my words a little. "Uh, y-yes. Yes, I do."

She gave me the smile she usually reserved for her parents' dinner party guests. Bright, charming, and fake to the bone. "Great. Zach, do you mind?"

Zach quickly stood up to let me out of the booth. I scooted out slowly and then Macey was grabbing my upper arm and dragging me to the bathroom. She shoved the bathroom door closed behind us and then checked under the doors of the two stalls to certify that we were alone. Then, she turned to look at me.

"You saw, didn't you?" She said earnestly. There was a brightness in her eyes, an excitement undulating beneath the surface of her skin. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Macey McHenry was gleeful.

"I can't believe it." I whispered. "I didn't realize until just now."

She nodded. "I know. It's pretty amazing, though, right? He may just be the perfect man."

I thought that was a little extreme but let it slide on the grounds that she was temporarily insane from love. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I wanted you to figure it out on your own!"

"What like a scavenger hunt?"

"No, silly," she said, shaking her head. "Like in the movies, where you look up one day and suddenly see the person differently. You see the way they look at you and you just know he's the one you've been waiting for, and he's been but a few steps away this whole time."

She'd gotten a far off look in her like she was envisioning the gooey moment in her head. A slight smile graced her lips as she stared at the sterile, white walls of Bucky's ladies room. And then her words sunk in.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" What did me experiencing a moment of melodramatic epiphany have to do with her crushing on Zach?

She looked at me quizzically. "What are _you _talking about?"

"I thought we were talking about the fact that you've got a thing for my new neighbor!"

Macey stared at me for a moment, her face stunned. And then, she exploded in laughter. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" She gasped in between breaths. "You thought I - ?"

She dissolved into more laughter, leaning her weight against me because apparently her laughter rendered her incapable of supporting herself. "What is so funny?" I asked her but she only laughed more.

When she managed to calm down and let go of me there were tears streaking down her face. "I haven't laughed that hard since I dared Timmy Smith to drink a jar of pickle juice and he vomited all over Tina Walter's _Highlights_ magazine in the third grade."

Poor Timmy still couldn't stand the smell of pickles, and Tina never did bring another magazine to school.

I shook my head. "But seriously, what is so funny?"

She smiled and bit back another laugh. "The idea that _I _would like _Zach_."

"Don't you?" I pushed my hair behind my ear, wondering at Macey's tone. Surely, it wouldn't be such a terrible thing to be attracted to Zach.

"It-It's just so absurd." She rolled her eyes. "And besides, it's not like my liking him would make any difference. That's what I was _trying_ to tell you."

When she saw that I didn't understand, she hurried to explain.

"Zach's got the hots," she said slowly, "for you."

"Uh, no."

The idea that Zach liked me - as in liked me more than a friend - wasn't just crazy; it was ludicrous, nay preposterous. What was she smoking? So Zach didn't shoot daggers at me with his eyes and I didn't run away screaming from him. That didn't mean he liked me.

Macey wasn't conceding. "It's so obvious, Cam. He's always asking questions about you when you aren't around-"

I talked over her as she continued to talk. "I have no idea whether you made that up or not so I'm going to treat it as a lie."

"And he always smiles when he sees you. And he comforts you-"

"Zach comforts everyone. Abby raised him to be a gentleman."

"He doesn't comfort me." She glared at me, hands on her hips. I mimicked her stance but feeling wholly less intimidating. "Besides, he still asks you to go jogging with him even though he surely knows his way around the woods by now."

I shrugged. "Maybe he's got a bad sense of direction."

"Then he should get a compass."

"You should get a life." I hissed as there was a thump against the door as someone tried to enter and found the way locked. "Zach and I just friends. There is nothing more than platonic camaraderie between us."

She humphed, unconvinced. The person on the other side of the door knocked. "Hello?" The girl's voice came through slightly muffled. "Can I _please_ come in? I really have to go."

Macey rolled her eyes and yelled, "Keep your panties dry, Waterworks."

She stomped over to the door and unlocked it. With much gusto, she flung the door open to show a girl a couple of years younger than us bouncing from one foot to the other. The girl looked up at Macey with fear in her eyes.

"There's this thing called time management," Macey said, "you should work on it."

I smiled apologetically at the girl as I passed her and narrowly avoided running into Preston Winters in the hall as I hurried to catch up to Macey on her way back to the table. I grabbed her by the elbow to slow her down. "Mace, promise you aren't going to say anything like this to Zach."

"Why?" She said gruffly. "Don't want me to call him out on his shit? Honestly, I can think of more embarrassing things to be guilty of than wanting a taste of your midnight delight, Cam."

I looked at her with wide eyes, willing her to believe me. She had to stop spouting this nonsense. "Because, one, you're wrong," I whispered, and she immediately started to move again. I tightened my hold on her arm to stop her. "And two, say you are right. Zach is new here and we just started to become friends. Macey, I have to live next door to this guy. Do you really want to make things awkward between us?"

Macey seemed to deflate a little. I could see I was calming her down and making her think rationally again. "And anyways, I have a boyfriend that I love."

A look flashed across her face but it was gone before I pinpoint it. She nodded. "Alright. Congratulations, Morgan. You talked me down from the ledge."

"Finally, she sees sense!"

She grimaced at me but gave my hand still on her arm a small squeeze to let me know she wasn't mad at me-and maybe to also tell me to let her go before she started having seizures. Macey wasn't always the most touchy-feely of people.

As we approached our table, I noticed that Tina was there taking Zach's order.

"Walters." Macey grumbled as she slid back into her seat. Zach scooted down the booth a little farther so I could slip in next to him.

"Macey, how's the summer going for you so far?" Tina asked cheerily. She was smacking her bubble gum loudly, a fact that I'm sure was irritating Macey to no end. I resisted the urge to hone in on the vein in her forehead that always made its presence known when she was holding back her frustration.

"Nothing of note."

"Really?" TIna said. There was a twinkle in her eye like that of a predator. "'Cause I heard a real interesting story about you and a mystery boy."

"Must've heard wrong," Macey replied sounding for all the world like she couldn't care less. However, I noticed the slight tightening of her shoulders and saw her crossing her legs. If there was one thing her mother had taught her it was that you only cross your legs when you have something to hide. "My love life has been missing a key ingredient for months."

Tina pouted sympathetically. "How sad."

"Truly tragic."

Tina and I both gave her long looks. I continued to stare at her with narrow eyes as Tina returned to talking to Zach. "So, have you decided what you're gonna get?" She asked in a slightly more breathy tone.

Zach gave his order and handed Tina his menu. She seemed a little disappointed that he had asked for the cheeseburger rather than, say, her number. After giving my order, Tina turned to Macey who seemed to have lost track of the invigorating conversation taking place in our booth. She was looking behind us towards the door as if she were waiting for someone.

"Mace?" I asked. "Were you gonna get the salad?"

"What?" She shifted her attention back to us. "Uh, actually, I just remembered that I have to go help my mother with this thing."

"What thing?" Tina asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.

Macey rolled her eyes as she scooted out of the booth. "She's getting the stick surgically removed from her ass." She said sarcastically.

Tina pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. "How sweet. Did you guys get a special deal for a pair of surgeries?"

"My mother never buys anything on sale." Macey said. "Though I suppose you would know all about matters relating to pairs and surgery."

She glanced purposefully at Tina's chest, and the latter blushed.

"I'll see you tonight at Bex's, Cam!"

Then, Macey left, leaving Zach and me with an incredibly embarrassed Tina and a half-empty booth. Tina quickly excused herself to place our orders (and possibly bawl in the back room), and Zach and I sat in silence for another minute.

"So," he said, "is it true?"

I knew what he was referring to. Tina's boobs. He was such a guy. "No idea."

He nodded. "Well...good for her."

I snorted and slapped a hand over my mouth in mortification. Any split-second hopes I'd had about Zach not hearing the noise were dashed as he crumbled into laughter.

"It's not funny." I said, slapping his shoulder. But a smile was growing on my lips and before I knew it, I was laughing with him.

"You're a jerk." I said after we had calmed down.

He just smile at me. "Whatever you say, Cookie."

I'm not going to lie. A flutter passed through me when he said that, raising goosebumps all along my arms. Had he just given me a pet name? My mind rushed to rationalize.

_It's not a pet name. It's a nickname. Friends give each nicknames._

Yeah, like shortenings of their full names, not different kinds of food! Sugar, sweetheart, pumpkin, honey bun, tootsie were all affectionate pet names for couples and what did they all have in common? They were edible!

_Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!_

"Cam, you okay?" Zach asked. His placed his hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.

"Yeah, I'm cool as a cucumber."

Tina came by with our food then, and I quickly dug in. The goosebumps that had sprung up when he called me "cookie" didn't go away until we had paid for our lunches.

And I was a little confused as to whether that was a good or a bad thing.

* * *

**Thoughts? Questions? Feelings?**

**Sorry for any grammatical/technical/spelling errors! As Jason Mraz would say, I'm only human.**


	8. Chapter 8

**It's been a while since my last update, as I expected it would be. School makes me entirely unreliable and I apologize immensely for that.**

**I would, however, like to thank you all for your patience with me. You guys are amazing to stick around and wait for me to get off my lazy bum and write for you. I really, really appreciate your support.**

* * *

CHAPTER 8

Zach dropped me back off at my house after lunch. The ride there was devoid of conversation, only the bluesy tones of Buddy Miller and Judie Miller filling the compact car with sound. When he pulled into my driveway, Zach dropped his hands from the wheel and looked over at me.

"You okay? You were quiet all through lunch." His voice was full of concern and its deep tone made me feel comforted which in turn made me feel guilty.

"I'm fine." I said quietly. "Just a little tired. I think I need to lay down for a bit."

He nodded.

"I should probably head inside." I said, my voice hushed. There was something about the way he was looking at me that made me feel as if he could see right through. He knew that I was keeping something from him; I only wished I knew what it was that he didn't know.

Without another word, I ducked out of the car, closing the passenger door behind me quietly. I forced myself to walk at a regular pace to my front door. By the time I was in my foyer with the door fully latched behind me, I was shaky all over and breathing unevenly as if I'd just finished a 5k. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the odd feelings.

I blamed Macey for this. It was an irrational assumption perhaps, but it was nonetheless the one I was going with. If she hadn't brought up all this talk of Zach being ga-ga over me then I wouldn't be feeling awkward and like I should be avoiding my new friend. Instead, I would feel relaxed and able to maturely handle my boyfriend being thousands of miles away from me.

Yes. That was it. Macey was undoubtedly riling me up because of her evil scheme to...to...

I sighed and slid down against the door until I was sitting on the cold tile floor. None of this was Macey's fault. It was mine with all of my insecurities and unresolved issues. I shook my head. It was still too early in the day to be thinking such dark thoughts. It was better to save those for the creeping hours of the night when the owls hooted passed my windows and the moon was there to soothe the nightmares.

I sat on the floor for another minute, the coolness of the floor actually quite comfortable compared to the humidity throughout the rest of the house. With a certain detachment, I remembered that Zach still had the SIM card of my phone and that I would need to retrieve it before I called Josh again tonight. I needed to let him know that I was okay and that I hoped he was having a good time with DeeDee even though he wouldn't understand the importance of what I was saying and I didn't actually really believe what I was saying.

Still, it was the right thing to say.

I didn't realize how exhausted I truly was until I had plodded my way up the stairs and was standing at the entrance to my room, staring at my bed as if in a hypnotic trance. I shuffled across the carpet to it and plopped down face-first. Within seconds, the haziness of sleep began to engulf me and it came as a huge relief to feel all my stress melt away.

~.~.~.~

The sound of laughing woke me up. I jolted up from my position which hadn't changed much from when I had first fallen asleep. Blearily, I looked for my bedside clock, wondering what time it was and yelped when my eyes focused on the blinking lights that declared it to be after seven. I'd been asleep for more than five hours.

Another laugh traveled up from below and this time I was able to discern that there were two people laughing. I scooted off the bed and out of my room, taking the steps two at a time to get to the main floor of the house.

"...and then when I asked him what he was doing," a voice giggled from the kitchen, "he told me that he just wanted to dress like a big boy!"

There was more laughter. It was loud and unrestricted and the first time I had heard my mom laugh like that in ages. I smiled to myself, imagining how red her face always got when she laughed like that and hurried the rest of the way into the kitchen, trying to catch a glimpse of it.

Sure enough, her face was red as she leaned against the counter, her entire body shaking with the force of her laugh. Across the counter from her was Abby, laughing just as hard though with far less blotchy skin.

Their laughs wound down to giggles after a minute and then just sighing, and I decided I might as well announce my presence.

"What's so funny?" I asked in my best jovial tone.

My mom jumped a little bit, surprised to see me standing in the kitchen. "Cammie, I didn't see you there. I'm sorry. Did we wake you?"

"It's cool. I was plenty rested." I waved her off. "Hey, Abby."

"Hey there, Cammie." Abby smiled at me. "Hope you don't mind me coming by. I'm afraid I strong-armed your mom into a girls' night."

"I don't mind at all. I do have to commend you, though, on being able to make Mom here do girls' night. She is usually so unbending when it comes to things she doesn't want to do."

"Hey, now!" Mom cried, sounding indignant. "You make me sound as if I'm some sort of tyrant."

"Is that not a synonym of parent? Odd."

I chuckled a little at my own good joke while my mom just rolled her head. She turned to Abby. "Help me here, Abby. My daughter is just so uncontrollable."

"Downright rebellious." Abby deadpanned.

"Oh, hardy har har. You two are just _so _hilarious." I roll my eyes at them as they exchange another giggle and then slide into the seat next to Abby at the counter. "So, what brings you over?"

Abby smiles brightly at me. "I ran into your mom today down at the town hall today, and we got to talking."

"Abby's going to be the new psychologist at the academy this fall." Mom said.

"Gallagher?" I said in confirmation and they both nodded.

Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women was the elite private school located less than ten minutes from Roseville. It had been established by the last member of the Gallagher family back in the 1800s and stood as a great symbol of our town's long and "sensational" history. I personally had never stepped foot in the school but there wasn't a kid in Roseville who hadn't made the trek down the winding road and scrambled their way to the top of the wall that surrounded the academy. It only took one look at the swooping green lawns and the palatial exterior of the school for you to know that Gallagher was no place for a small town girl; it was the home of princesses.

"I didn't know that," I said to Abby. "Maybe you could sneak me some pictures of the inside of the school. I've always wondered what the inside of it is like."

"Well, that's just a travesty!" Abby exclaimed jovially. "We must rectify that ASAP."

I returned her smile and asked her if she planned to stay for dinner.

"Pizza's on its way over now. Your mom was kind enough to invite me over for dinner and a movie. She's gonna give me the dirt on all the teachers in town."

"Your welcome to join us, honey," Mom said coming around the counter and patting a hand on my shoulder as she passed me. "We're going to watch _The Goonies. _I know that's one of your favorites."

I didn't hesitate for a second before I agreed.

"Just let me run and get something real quick, and I'll be back."

I didn't wait for their answer before I headed for the door and told them not to start the movie without me. I strode across the expanse of the lawn barefoot, the spears of grass tickling my toes as they dug their way between them. I hopped up the couple stairs to Abby's house and rang the bell, half of me hoping Zach was home and the other half hoping he was out.

The latter was disappointed as he swung the door open seconds a little, his face betraying no surprise at seeing me at his door.

"Hey," I began and then stopped there.

"Hey."

"My SIM card." I said bluntly. "I need my SIM card."

At that, he leaned against the door frame, not inviting me in and certainly not handing over the vital piece to my phone.

"SIM card, huh?" He said. I nodded. "And what makes you think you've earned it?"

"Earned it? What do you mean?"

"Come on, Cammie," he spoke to me like the answer was obvious. "I took the card to keep you from obsessing about your man-candy parading living it up in Barbados-"

"-he's not in Barbados."

"-and have you stopped? Have you stopped thinking about him?"

"It's only been a couple of hours." I replied.

A smile tugged at his lips and a surge of irritation rose in me. "Then you're not ready to have your SIM card back."

"Now, listen here," I said, "that is my card and if I ask for it back then you should give it!"

"But you gave it to me for safekeeping and I worry about the power you could wield with it." Zach said in a tone so completely serious that he had to be joking. "Right now, I fear you may use it for evil."

"Zachary."

"Cameron."

We stared each other down, neither willing to back down before the other. "This is absurd." I muttered.

"Such is life." He replied.

"Do you realize how terrible a person this makes you? You are preventing me from calling my boyfriend. My boyfriend, who's out helping the world. And what are you doing Zach, besides monitoring my calls?"

"Well, I just ate a sandwich. I'm thinking about going back for seconds."

I groaned in frustration and stomped my foot. "I'm serious, Zach. Give it back."

He appeared unfazed. "How about this? Get through one night without it. Go one night without worrying about whether he'll call and just let go of it all, and then I'll give it back first thing in the morning."

I glared at him but he gave no sign that this affected him. I sighed and gave in.

"Fine." He grinned at me. "But first thing in the morning, I'm coming for it."

"First thing in the morning." Zach extended his hand to me to shake. I took it and shook it firmly, hoping to convey how very much I did not want to go through with this plan through the simple touch.

After a few seconds, we stopped shaking hands but didn't let go of one another. I looked down at them and thought for a second of what would happen if I didn't let go. But that was an absurd thought and I quickly pushed it away.

I pulled away from him and took a step back. However, I forgot to consider the steps and lost my balance, tipping backwards. My arms flew up and I braced myself for the inevitable fall, my eyes closing as though if I couldn't see the fall then it wouldn't be real.

The impact of the ground never came, though. Instead, I was jerked back forward. I collided with something warm and firm. I opened my eyes slowly, taking in the feeling. Zach's arms were wrapped around me, pinning my arms down. I pressed up against his chest, my head resting under his chin. It almost reminded me of our first encounter when he had landed on me in the grass, and we had been pressed up against each other just like this, shoulders to knees touching.

I expected him to pull away, to let go and step back. But he didn't. I expected myself to excuse myself, to make a silly comment and slip back to my own house where I was able to think coherently and not just about how I could feel every breath Zach was taking. But I didn't.

I felt his hands rub against my back and it occurred to me that we were hugging. I brought my arms up as much as I could and wrapped them around his waist, hugging him back.

I pulled away after a minute, not because it had begun to feel awkward-in fact, Zach's chest was extremely comfortable-but because I had to something to say.

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?" He asked, confused.

"For being my friend." I said. "I mean, we've barely known each other a month and already you're...you're just a really great guy, Zach. And a really great friend."

He looked down at my face, a smile on his lips. "You're a really great guy, too, Cammie."

I slapped his bicep. "Oh, shut up!"

He laughed off my pathetic comeback. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Cammie."

"Yeah," I replied, "tomorrow."

I turned and watched my feet as I descended the steps this time. I walked across our two lawns much the way I had the first time I had met, leaving dark footprints in my wake. And just as before, when I turned to look back at the place I had just left, Zach was there watching me watch him.

* * *

**Hope you all are enjoying your holiday season! I know I have been (which is why my panic attack is due to hit at any moment).**

**Let me know your thoughts if you please! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**So, it occurs to me that I haven't updated in a while, and I'm a terrible person. I was procrastinating on some homework today and felt that I should at least do something productive, so here is a new chapter. Please excuse any errors on my part!**

**Disclaimer:** _All characters belong to Ally Carter._

* * *

Chapter NINE

"We missed you last night."

Those were the first words out of Bex's mouth when I answered the door the next morning. It was eight in the morning and while I was still tromping around in my pajamas, Bex had donned a beige cami tucked into plum colored high-waisted shorts with a matching blazer.

"Hello, Bex, how are you this morning?" I mumbled. "Oh, I'm fine, Cammie, just jolly. How fare ye?"

"'How fare ye,' Cam, really? I'm part British, not part Shakespeare."

I smiled and opened the door wider so she could step into the foyer. "I'm sorry I didn't come over last night; I completely blanked."

"No biggie. I would have called but Macey said it'd just go to voicemail." She quirked an eyebrow at me. "What's the story behind that?"

"Oh, uh, nothing." I said. "Zach dismantled my phone so..."

"I see."

She was quiet for a moment and avoided meeting my eye. "What?"

She shook her head and looked back at me. "Nothing." But the guilty look on her face said otherwise.

"What did you and Macey talk about last night?" I asked slowly, and her face flushed.

Bingo.

"Oh, God. She told you that ridiculous theory, too, didn't she?"

"It didn't so ridiculous to me."

I stared at her. "It's official. My friends have gone insane. Did Liz at least see some sense?"

Bex shook her head. "I don't get what the big deal is. So, you've got a little crush. So does just about every girl who sees him. There's no need to sweat over it."

"I have a boyfriend."

"Who's thousands of miles away."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The question came out a little harsher than I intended and she looked at me for a moment before turning away and saying, "Nothing."

Somehow the atmosphere in the room had become very tense. I was gripping the banister at the bottom of the stairs so hard that my knuckles were white. Bex, who was usually the epitome of relaxed, was standing pin straight like there was a metal rod attached to her spine.

I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just I find it all to be so..."

"Ridiculous?" She smiled a little, and I returned it.

"Yeah."

She shrugged and relaxed again. "It's cool. I shouldn't have brought it up. I just wanted to see the look on your face."

For a second, I had the strange urge to look at the ground, as if I were guilty of something. I couldn't meet Bex's eyes when she said that. I didn't know why.

"Uh, do you want something to eat? I was gonna whip up a bowl of cereal."

She waved my offer away with a hand. "Nah, I ate at home. I wouldn't say no to a cup of joe, though."

"Coming right up."

After I got Bex her mug of coffee (she was addicted to the stuff), our conversation went far smoother. She didn't mention anything about Zach or Josh or meaningful glances, and I was eternally grateful. While I loved Macey with all of my heart, she didn't know when to drop the issue. She pushed and pushed until everyone was either pissed off and yelling or crying in the corner. Bex, on the other hand, allowed you at least a chance of forming a viable argument of whatever tangent her mind was currently running on.

"So, are you going to the bonfire this weekend?" She asked after taking a sip of her steaming hot coffee.

I leaned back in my seat and nursed my own mug. "I haven't decided yet."

"What's there to decide? You've barely hung out with anyone all summer, choosing to mope around your house or Bucky's on the few days you do work." Bex gave me a serious look. "I was talking to Eva a couple days ago and she asked me if you ended up leaving with Josh for the summer."

I laughed a little and brushed my hair out of my face. "Nope, still here."

Bex placed her mug down on the wooden surface of the table and grabbed my hand. "You should come to the party. It'll be a good distractor. Plus, it's the Fourth of July bonfire. We always go to the Fourth of July bonfire."

I heaved a sigh. "Fine, I'll go. But only because you begged."

"Fantastic. Liz's going to be able to make it, too." She beamed at me. "It's going to be a night to remember."

I smiled back at her, though slightly more sarcastic. "And possibly one we wish we could forget."

She shoved my shoulder and slumped against her seat. "Hush, you. I don't need you weighing down on me with your negativity. What I do need is for you tell me exactly what you plan to wear this Saturday."

"I have a better idea. Can you tell me what the hell is up with Macey? She's been acting like a maniac lately."

Bex shrugged. "You noticed that, too? At first I thought nothing of it - I figured it had to be her stressing over our trip. But it's not. Last Thursday we went to a movie just the two of us and halfway through - right as they're getting to the good stuff, mind you - she charges out of the theater and starts going on about misogynists and harlots. It was weird."

"Oh my gosh. What were you guys watching?"

"The late night animation showing. It was _Bambi_, Cammie. _Bambi_." Bex's eyes were wide and one hundred percent serious.

I broke out laughing.

Bex smiled at me as she continued. "But seriously, I'm glad you brought this up. Macey's been like a ticking time bomb these past couple weeks. Is something going on with her and her parents?"

I shook my head as my laughter died down. "Not as far as I know." I paused for a minute. "She did want a cobb salad yesterday."

"Better known as the Macey Mating Salad?" Bex smirked and quirked an eyebrow at me.

"The very one."

"Do you think she's hooking up with someone?"

I rolled my eyes. "She literally laughed in my face when I proposed that. Apparently Zach's not her type."

"So she's not hooking up with Zach. That doesn't mean she's still not getting up on some other guy we know." She thought for a moment. "Although, who else in this town would she date?"

I recalled another detail from yesterday's lunch. "Tina did say something about a mystery man."

Bex grinned wickedly. "Sounds sexy. I'm already imagining the torrid love affair. Macey, the mayor's daughter and Jacque, the pauper."

"The pauper?" I gave her an unimpressed look. "Are we living in a modern day fiefdom?"

She shrugged and replied cryptically, "Depends on who you ask."

I rolled my eyes. "Anyways..."

Bex refocused. "Yes, anyways, we'll keep an eye on her. It's a good thing our vacay is just one blessed week away. We'll squeeze every last secret out of her."

"You know, sometimes I wonder what kind of person you might have been like in another life."

Her look was undeniably irritated. "I would think it were apparent, Cammie dear. Obviously, I worked for MI6 as the renowned and highly feared female James Bond. I'm gonna devote an entire section of my life's memoir to this very subject one day."

I laughed and got up from the table. "Wait for me to get dressed?"

She nodded her agreement, and I headed upstairs to change. Fifteen minutes later I was locking up the house and heading towards her car when I thought to make a quick detour.

With a gesture of exasperation, Bex settled into her car as I trudged over to Zach's house. I hadn't even rung the door bell when the door opened, however.

"Well, g'morning!" Abby said, incredibly amiable for eight thirty in the morning.

"Morning, Abby. Is Zach home?"

"Just woke up. Wanna come in?" Abby opened the door wider but I hesitated.

"Uh, well, I'm kind of heading out. I just needed to pick something up."

She shook head and smiled mischievously. "You should probably ask him about that yourself. I can never find anything of his." She beckoned me in again with a nod of her head. "Come on, his room's right upstairs. Last door on the right."

I sighed. "Okay, then." I turned and waved at Bex to let her know it'd be just another minute before I entered the foyer.

With a respectable amount of shyness, I walked through the foyer and to the wide staircase that led to the second floor. The wood was smooth and without a single creak as I ascended the steps, and I had to stifle the urge to creep like a ninja to Zach's room. The door that Abby had marked as Zach's was cracked open when I reached it. I knocked lightly before opening, but even that little pressure was enough to make the well-oiled hinges work, and the door swung open.

At first, I didn't see anyone in the room. And then Zach walked through a door on the adjacent wall. Wet and shirtless.

For a second, I was frozen and just watched him as he walked across his room completely ambivalent to my presence. He'd obviously just finished his shower; his hair still had water clinging to his, and he had a white towel draped across his shoulders. His jeans were slung low on his hips, just an inch of his underwear peeking over. I'd never noticed what a well-shaped butt he had before...

I found my sanity and quickly diverted my gaze. My face blazed red from the realization that I had just been ogling my friend's ass.

"Hey, Zach." I squeaked.

"Hey, Cammie." He replied instinctively and then he seemed to realize who was in his room. "Holy...Cammie! What are you-What are you doing in here?"

"Abby let me in. I'm sorry. I knocked..." I trailed and shot a quick glance at him. He was quickly shoving his arms and head through a navy t-shirt that I'd seen him wearing last week and knew hugged his abs, although how I suddenly knew that tidbit was a mystery to me. It hadn't even run through my mind when I'd seen him in it last week.

"So, what do you need?" Zach asked me, now fully clothed.

I didn't respond immediately, as my focus was still a little disoriented. "I, uh...I need my SIM card. For my phone."

He snapped his fingers. "Right. Of course. I knew that."

He walked over to his nightstand and opened its solitary drawer. He found the card, but instead of tossing it over the bed to me, he walked around it and handed it to me personally.

I took it slowly. "Thanks." The single word was short of breath. Odd.

"You're welcome."

Despite the obvious awkwardness of the moment, it was still comfortable standing in front of Zach, a displaced SIM card between us like a baton. If only we were actually in a relay; then I would be able to explain the pounding rhythm of my heart.

"I should go." I said, but I made no move to leave.

"Got places to be?"

I nodded. "Bex and I are picking up supplies for our girls' getaway."

"Sounds...girly."

I bit my lip to back a laugh. "That would be an apt description."

"Don't let me keep you then."

He extended his hand to his open bedroom door, and I consented. With a final goodbye, I headed back down the hall. I looked back towards his door when I reached the top of the staircase but he wasn't in sight. I was surprised to find myself a little disappointed.

I left his house quickly after that, waving to Abby on my way out. Once I was settled into Bex's car, I let out a deep breath that I hadn't realized I was holding onto.

"What is it?" My friend asked as she backed out of my driveway.

"What does it mean when you check out the ass of a guy who isn't your boyfriend?"

She gave me an astonished look, and I had to remind her to watch the road. "You checked out Zach's ass?"

"That's not the point."

"Maybe it should be." She said with a little chuckle.

"_Bex_."

"Relax, Cam. That doesn't make you a cheater. It just makes you human. A little looking is perfectly fine. I encourage it, actually. That way you know how good or bad you've got it." She grinned at me. "Now, to the stuff that's actually interesting. Zach's got a great gluteus maximus, doesn't he?"

"You've checked it out?"

"Only every time his back's turned to me. You don't see butts like that every day, you know. Gotta take advantage of it when you can."

"I feel scarred."

Bex barked out a short laugh. "Don't act so innocent, Cammie. You and Josh have been together for years. There's no way you can be that uncorrupted."

"Josh is a complete gentleman."

"Well, even gentlemen can be naughty."

I blushed and Bex took that as all the evidence she needed.

I decided not to mention the fact that I had also seen Zach shirtless. If Bex had this kind of reaction to a fully clothed part of his body, I shuddered to imagine what would happen if I told her about his bare chest and the way his abs had that perfect amount of definition. And how the muscles in his back had glided so smoothly as he ambled casually through his room, merely going from point A to point B.

No, I definitely was keeping that to myself.

* * *

**What do you think? I know it's a bit of a filler chapter but hopefully I'll be able to get some of my big events in here soon. I've got things planned, guys. It'll be epic. Hopefully.**

**Reviews, comments, and questions welcomed!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So this is a long update, partly because I feel bad for not updating in so long, and partly because I'm leaving on vacation for a week in a couple days, but MOSTLY because there was a stopping point I had in mind for this chapter and I couldn't stand ending it any sooner.**

**So ENJOY!**

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to Ally Carter. I really own nothing at all except for some imagination and a lot of clothes. Too many clothes, to be exact._

* * *

Chapter TEN

Every year since I could remember I had attended the Roseville Fourth of July bonfire. As a little girl, my parents had taken me, flanking me on either side for the night. Now as a teenager, I drove with my closest friends to the old red barn that the town's big events were always held at.

Liz was sitting in the passenger seat as I parked the car. She was telling me about her week at Computer Camp - Bex had already heard all about it at the sleepover I'd missed at her house earlier this week.

"...and I mean, sure I could have called it quits then and been totally fine, but I really wanted to make a good impression with the counselors, you know? So, I whipped up a little extra code and really made some magic."

"That's awesome. I bet you wiped the floor with all those other camp-goers."

Liz blushed, forever the humble genius. "I don't know about that. Everyone there was so motivated, you know?" She grabbed one of her braided pig-tails and wound it around a figure. "To be honest, I felt kind of average in comparison."

Bex leaned in between the two front seats from her position in the back and took a long, hard look at our brilliant friend. "Liz, no one could ever describe you as average."

She blushed again and smiled. "Thanks." She muttered, and then she turned to look out the window.

I turned off the main road and followed a skinny dirt road that led to the old town barn. Plenty of people had already arrived so we had to park further back. As we stepped out of the car, the ground behind our feet was spongy from the rain the night before. If I could avoid falling on my ass and getting mud stains, tonight was looking to be pretty good.

A car honked at us as we headed down the rest of the road. I spun my head around and saw Abby in the driver's seat, grinning like a mad man. She rolled down her window and stuck her head out. "Just so I know, how crazy do these shindigs get?"

I smiled back at her. "On occasion they have been known to get _pretty_ crazy."

Bex slung her arm around my shoulders. "Don't you worry, Abby. Cammie's definition of crazy is a bit tamer than the average person's."

I scowled at her and tried to shrug off her shoulder but she just hugged to me her tighter. Abby laughed and stuck her head back in her car and turned to Zach who was in the passenger seat. I tried to make eye contact with him but he was talking to someone on the phone. He seemed almost...upset.

Abby said something to him and he shook his head, then she stuck her head out of the window once more. "We'll see you guys there, okay? Gotta go park and shit."

I waved goodbye as they reversed. Bex and I turned back towards where the barn and festivities were. Liz was a little further down the road from us, having run into Mr. Mosckowitz, our science teacher and her self-professed mentor. As we reached the two of them Mr. M was delivering the punch line of a chemistry joke that I wouldn't have understood even if I'd been there for the beginning. Liz, however, hooted with laughter.

"Oh, that's gold, Mr. M," she said through her laughter, "Pure gold."

Mr. M smiled cherubically, glad to have at least one pupil that truly appreciated his genius. "Thank you very much, Miss Sutton. Now, I hope you ladies have a lovely evening."

So, the three of us set off yet again, this time actually managing to reach our destination. The bonfire.

The fire wasn't lit yet, but the party had certainly begun. Tents were set up with heaping tables of food beneath them, screens in place to keep the bugs away. From the old, red barn drifted the sounds of The Beatles, letting us know that the dance party was free to start. And over by the fireworks were some of our classmates, some of them snickering over their fantasies of setting the fireworks off early while others stood with their backs turned to the growing crowd as they sneaked sips from a shiny, silver flask.

From the look on Bex's face, I could tell she wasn't against joining the crowd by the fireworks and joining in on the flask-sharing. However, I could see Tina in the middle of that crowd and as we were meeting Macey here, I knew she wouldn't take kindly to us amicably sharing alcohol with my co-worker.

I said as much to Bex and she sighed with resignation. "Fine, but where is that girl? I thought she said she left before us?"

This was true. Plus, Macey's house was nearer to the site of the party than any of ours' were. Where was Macey indeed?

We scoured the crowd looking for her, somehow drifting to the food tables. We filled our plates up with pulled pork sandwiches and fruit and chips and then sat down at a table as near to the line of parked cars as we could get. Still, we didn't catch sight of her until our plates were empty and our stomachs full.

She seemed to just appear in the middle of the crowd, people passing her by in all directions. I yelled out her name and she turned towards us. She smiled at us and headed our way but I could tell something was bothering her. She walked just a little bit too fast and her fingers were twitching at her sides.

She sat down in the open chair between Bex and Liz. "Hey, guys. I've been looking all over for you! I thought we were meeting in the barn."

Bex and I exchanged a look. She was lying and we knew it. But Macey was our friend and we had to give her the benefit of the doubt. If she was lying, there must be a reason. "Sorry about that," I said, "Must have slipped my mind."

She shrugged and stole a grape off Liz's plate. "You can make it up to me later. You guys want to head over to the barn? The DJ's pretty good this year."

She led the way over to the barn, only pausing for us to throw out our trash. The interior of the barn was decorated from floor to ceiling. Twinkle lights hung from the rafters, flashing on and off. Cut-outs of fireworks and patriotic wreaths were plastered all over the walls. Streamers were everywhere. Bistro-style tables were lined up along the walls so there was a place for people to sit when they grew tired. But the majority of people were in the middle of the barn, where the dance floor was set up.

Everywhere I turned, I saw stars. They were on the table covers, on the walls, on the balloons floating up in the rafters. All around us, people were sporting Mardi Gras necklaces with little star pieces that sparkled when they caught the light.

"Roseville does know how to throw a party." I mumbled.

"What?" Macey hadn't heard me over the loud beat of the music. I shook my head to tell her I was talking to myself and she moved on. "Let's dance!" She shouted.

Before I could refuse she laced her hand in mine and tugged me to the dance floor. She pushed between the swaying bodies that filled the room until we were encompassed by it all. She let out a shout of joy and joined in with the other bodies. Whereas on the outskirts of the room, people were doing simple four-step dances or perhaps just moving from one foot to the other an arm's width apart, here couples were pressed together, not an inch air separating them. It wasn't exactly a sight for children but then again, parents knew that and kept the younger kids outdoors at the start of the evening. Their reasoning was that it was safer to keep the town's teenagers at a town party on one of the year's greatest holidays rather than run the risk of them getting into trouble God knows where with God knows who.

It was an awkward system for all persons involved but also one that worked. You got into a fight with a boyfriend? Don't go running into the arms of some strange boy with a tattoo of Donald Duck on his ass; go home with your parents. You got a little wasted? Ask Officer Anderson for one of the puke bags he also kept handy on this night.

The Fourth of July Bonfire was the one night of the year that mistakes were simultaneously made and forgiven. Not necessarily forgotten but definitely not held over our heads. Even my mother was lenient tonight - primarily because it was the only night of the year that she ended up sloshed and felt she had no ground to judge on.

"Cammie, come on!" Macey shouted over the music. "I can't dance alone!"

I had to shout just as loud back. "I don't know if you can consider what you're doing dancing!"

She scowled and grabbed my hands again. She wiggled her hips to the quick beat of the party music, forever the more rhythmic of the two of us. I could see Bex and Liz working their way through the last ring of the crowd and then they were beside us. Bex immediately joined in with Macey. Liz and I tried to keep up to the best of our abilities but Liz had two left feet and I...I was just a bit too shy to go full on dancing.

But even the most self-conscious person can lose themselves in the moment and it wasn't long until the four of us were grooving along in the middle of the crowd. We swayed and twisted and turned and eventually had to leave for some air. Extrication was tricky, however. We'd been dancing for well over an hour and more people had joined the crowd, meaning there were more bodies to push aside and more apologies and yelps of pain as feet were stepped on or ribs elbowed.

Eventually, we made it outside where the sun had finally set and they were preparing to light the bonfire. A throng had gathered around the giant heap of wood. The fire department was on hand, one of their big, bright red trucks within view in case the fire got out of control.

The four of us grabbed glasses of water and found a place to sit, waiting for the first match to be lit. The DJ in the barn cut the music long enough to announce that the bonfire was about to be lit and if anyone wanted to enjoy the show, now was the time to leave. There was much whistling and shouts of excitement and then the music picked up again, this time with a much more patriotic message.

Mayor McHenry approached the unlit bonfire as "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" blared through the speakers, a giant match in his hand. The DA finished pouring some last minute lighter fluid as the mayor struck the match. It blazed bright like a shooting star as he tossed it into the middle of the woodpile. The flame caught immediately.

The crowd cheered. "Hoorah! Hoorah!"

Mayor McHenry bowed deeply. "You're welcome! Happy Fourth of July, everyone!"

There was much agreement and the crowd began to move again as the playlist moved onto "The Star-Spangled Banner." The adults around us were all drinking, depending on the licensed kids in town to drive everyone home. I noticed my mother on the other side of the fire with Abby and Mr. Sanders, the three of them chatting over beers. Macey, on the other hand, was doing everything she could not to look at her father who had been absorbed into the cheery crowd of increasingly intoxicated adults. To say that Macey and her father had a rocky relationship was putting it lightly. They were constantly shifting back and forth from fighting to tolerating, and right now it looked like they were doing the former.

"I hate that I have to drive home tonight." She exclaimed. "What I would do if I could drink right now."

"Probably do something you'd regret." Liz said.

Bex grinned wickedly. "Or some_one_."

Macey made a face at her and stood up from her seat. "Ready to dance some more?"

Bex and Liz shook their heads. Both of them wanted to watch the bonfire (and the drunken idiots we called our parents) a bit longer. Macey turned to me for support but found none.

"Actually, I'm gonna make a call."

I could tell she was disappointed, not just that she now had to dance alone but because I was distancing myself from the party to make a call. It was as if she knew who I was going to call and disapproved. But that made no sense. Why would Macey disapprove of me talking to my boyfriend?

She left without another word, heading back to the barn where most of the kids in attendance tonight were now congregating (no child likes to see parents partying - it's just sad). I went in the opposite direction toward another building on the old town property that was usually used for storage. As I walked through the damp grass, I pulled out my phone and typed in Josh's number.

It rang three times before someone picked up. But it wasn't the voice I was expecting. "Hello?"

"Who is this?" I asked, but of course I already knew.

"DeeDee. Do you have the wrong number?"

I stopped walking even though the building was still several yards away. "DeeDee, this is Cammie. I was hoping to talk to my boyfriend."

My skin itched, and I told myself to not sound bitchy, but another girl was answering my boyfriend's phone!

The ho-bag on the other end of the line gasped in surprise. "Oh, dear. I'm so sorry, Cammie! I thought I was answering my phone - "

_A likely story, ho._

" - we have the same phones and I guess the same ringtone. Oops!"

I sighed. "That's fine, DeeDee. Is Josh there?"

She paused. "Um, he's, uh...no, he's not."

"Then where is he?" My voice came out almost sounding like a hiss and I wanted to slap myself for sounding so much like a clingy, possessive girlfriend that couldn't draw the line between loving and leering.

DeeDee had definitely picked up on my attitude now, and when she responded it was with great care. "He's eating dinner in the village with a couple of others in our group. I wasn't feeling well so I stayed here...in his room."

Suddenly, I couldn't stay still. I paced back and forth between my original position and the edge of the storage shed. "Why would you stay in his room? Why not your own?"

"Cammie, really there's nothing for you to worry about."

"Why don't you leave that for me to decide."

She said nothing and it irritated me even more that she was staying so calm, that she saw nothing with her - the perfect, giving American sweetheart from South Carolina - spending time in my boyfriend's room. _My _boyfriend. Not hers. How dare she accommodate herself into his life like that?

I couldn't stop the next words that came out of my mouth, and I wouldn't have wanted to even if I could. "I don't like very much, DeeDee. In fact, I don't like you at all."

There was silence for a moment and then she said, "You completely misunderstand."

"No," I said fiercely, "You do. Josh is my boyfriend even if he is an ocean away. You think you can sing songs and walk along the beach together, and he'll fall in love with you? Please. Josh and I have history. And that's more than you'll ever have with him."

"Cammie - "

I cut her off. I was fed up with this conversation. I was fed up with the monster it was bringing out in me. "Tell Josh I called."

I hung up without saying anything else. There was a fire burning in my chest just as hot as the one reaching to the sky in the distance behind me. My head pounded and my hands were sweating. I felt nauseous, whether from hearing DeeDee answer Josh's phone or from the cruel words I had so carelessly tossed at a girl who I knew deep down didn't mean me any harm or disrespect.

I rubbed my hands over my eyes as if it could erase the past few minutes. Anything to make this pain go away. Perhaps it was because I was so desperately searching for a distraction that I heard the sounds of people on the other side of the shed and went to see who it was.

I was not prepared for what I saw.

Eva Alvarez had her back pushed up against the exterior wall of the shed, her boobs just about ready to burst from her low-cut tank top. She had her most seductive smile on and her hands were gripping the waist of none other than Zachary Goode. He was leaning into her, both of his hands on either side of her head. It took me less than a second to realize he was about to kiss her and less than a second after that to feel the wave of shock come crashing down on me.

"Oh."

Like so many other words tonight, I hadn't meant to say it, but it was heard nonetheless. Zach glanced over at me, at first disinterestedly, and then he did a double-take. He shoved himself away from Eva who gave a whine of protest, but he paid her no mind.

"Cammie." He said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." Of course, it wasn't like I had barged into a locked room. They were outdoors during the middle of the Fourth of July bonfire. Someone was bound to witness them and their dirty act. But I could tell from the look on Zach's face as he neared me that he wished it hadn't been me.

"Cammie," he repeated, but this time I didn't say anything in reply. I turned to leave but he had reached me and grabbed my elbow, forcing me to stay. "I didn't mean for you to see that."

There was something about his voice that was off, or perhaps it was just that I was seeing him in a new light.

"Zach, it's fine. You're a single guy." I said, trying to shake off his grip to no avail. "You can do whatever you want."

Eva appeared at his shoulder. "Zach," she whined. "Let Cammie go. You made me a promise last time we saw each other."

Despite myself, I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. I recalled the conversation I'd had with Tina at work a few weeks earlier about some bad boy fella that Eva had gotten in trouble with at the beginning of the summer. I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew who that boy had been.

I knew the second he realized I knew. "Fuck."

His grip loosened and I was able to free myself just in time to avoid Eva launching herself at Zach's chest. He pushed her off of himself easily enough, but I wasn't in the mood to watch them make out with each other. I started to walk away, but he called after me again. He grabbed at me a second time, but I avoided his hold.

"Cammie, just wait a damn second, will you?" He yelled. "Give me a chance to explain."

I whipped around to face him. He was only a few feet behind me, Eva still by the shed pouting. "What's there to explain, Zach? Why shouldn't you and Eva hook up? What's wrong with that picture?"

I shoved away the thought that told me everything was wrong with that picture.

"You're both single. Both attractive enough. Of _course_, you'd want to hook up!"

I became aware that my voice was getting quite loud and consciously worked to keep it down.

"It's fine, Zach."

"No, it's not," he disagreed. "It was stupid and irresponsible and a complete mistake."

I did my best to keep my voice even. "Then why'd you do it?"

He waved his arms in exasperation. "Maybe it was all of the smoke inhalation from that stupid bonfire or the booze or the fact that this has been a shit night and the only person I actually wanted to spend it with was apparently too busy talking into her phone to even look for me."

He shot a pointed look at the phone still in my hand but I disregarded that. Instead I focused on the second thing he'd said. "The booze? Zach, are you drunk?"

He rolled his eyes. "No. Though I wouldn't rule out tipsy."

"You're quite articulate for a drunk person."

"Cammie."

"No, seriously. I'm such a lightweight; I start slurring after one beer."

He glared at me, letting me know that he did not appreciate me trying to lighten the mood.

I looked at the ground. "I guess this has kind of been a shit night for me, too."

He stepped closer to me. "I'm really sorry, Cammie. I...I didn't want you to see that."

I looked up at his face, just a feet away from my own. Regret was etched on every inch of it. "Sometimes we do things we regret."

_I know I do_.

He let out a bitter laugh. "I was so ready to have a good time tonight, you know? And then I got this call on the way here..."

He trailed off, glaring at the fire still burning behind me. I could see the flames reflected in his eyes, raging. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

His answer was resolute. Certain. And I realized that while he meant it when he regretted me seeing him and Eva together, he despised whatever had brought him to those actions in the first place. And what's more, I wasn't sure he'd ever trust me enough to tell me what it was about that phone call that made him so mad and so desperate for a distraction.

We stood that way for a while longer. Eva grew impatient, waiting for the stoic boy in front of me that showed no inclination of returning to her and left, and I had no desire to return to a party that now seemed tainted from my own phone call. So we stood together but separate, both of us fixated on problems not within our reach - problems that lay a phone call away.

* * *

**Thoughts, questions, feelings? What did you think about the end?**


End file.
